Abastor, Lost in Atlantic City
by Horses of Shadow and Night
Summary: Sequel to Untold Story of Cesar, SECOND ATTEMPT! Anne decides in order to get her family's attention, she'll run away to America. Can Erik and Abastor bring her home? And how will Gabriella managed the horse farm alone? Rated for safety! REVIEW PLEASE!
1. Where's Anne?

**He's here! The Phantom of the OPERAAAAAAAA! Haha, well. Close enough. This is it though! Abastor 2.0! Aren't you all excited? I know I am. So, without further ado. Ladies and Gentleman, Boys and Girls, Children and Phantom Phans of all ages! I bring you, Abastor! Son of the Phantom's Stallion!**

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><p>"Cesar, isn't it wonderful?" Gabriella asked one fall day. She was currently kneeling in front of Cesar's grave, talking softly like she did every so often now. Abastor stood not too far off, waiting for her so they could go to the opera.<p>

She smiled and looked down at her stomach "Erik doesn't know yet, but we're expecting again. I wish you could see this next child, but I'm sure Abastor will take good care of it, just like you took good care of Daniel and Anne" she said. Finally she stood "I'm going to tell him when I return. Better to tell him than have him notice I'm bigger right?" she asked.

Abastor nickered and she turned and went to him, pulling herself up into the sidesaddle with ease and collecting her reins "Alright Abastor. Let's go". With a click of her heel the grey stallion was off cantering down the road towards the Paris Opera House.

As they reached the stables Daniel came out, a small chestnut pony following out behind him "Hello Mother" he greeted as she dismounted. "Daniel, shouldn't you be home helping your father?" she asked, he tossed the pony's reins over it's head and got ready to mount "That's where I'm going now Mother" he replied.

The little pony nudged his master as the boy pulled himself up onto it's back. He was a handsome little pony, with a white blaze going down his face and 4 white socks. "Come on Blaze, Father will be angry if we don't hurry" he told his pony. Before Gabriella could ask him another thing the boy and his pony were barreling down the streets of Paris towards home.

Sighing, she lead Abastor into the stable area, handing him to one of the stablehands to be untacked and cooled. She then proceeded to examine every horse, making sure they were all being taken care of properly. Satisfied with what she saw, she went inside to the stage where the rehearsals for the next opera were to begin.

"Mother!" a young voice called, running up to her. Gabriella smiled at her daughter "Yes Anne?" she asked. The girl sighed "When's father coming to see the show? I haven't seen him in months!" she told her. From the way Anne was looking at her, she could tell her daughter had been waiting to ask her this a long time.

She sighed "Anne, you know your father is busy. He WILL come soon, alright?" she asked. Anne looked hopeful "Do you promise?" she asked, this made her tense a little bit but she nodded "I promise. Now, where is Isabelle? We're starting now!" she called.

At the sound of her voice the ballerinas all scampered to the stage and lined up and began to stretch. Gabriella began to stretch a bit herself. Though Erik resented it, she still prefered to wear her pointe shoes so she could demonstrate for her dancers.

Suddenly the managers came out, coming up to Gabriella "Have you decided on the Prima Ballerina yet?" they demanded "Monsieur Montel wants to know" they told her. When Monsieur Reyer had retired after the fire, Monsieur Montel had taken his place.

Monsieur Montel was younger, and had a keen ear for music. He was no Erik, but he was better than Monsieur Reyer had been. Though Gabriella had to admit, she missed the old conductor sometimes, he'd been there in front of the stage for her entire career, right up to the disaster.

She nodded after a moment "Yes, I've selected my Prima Ballerina" she told them. Monsieur Firmin nodded "Thank you Madame. Who is she?" he asked, she turned around "Maria! Come here!" she called. A tall girl with strawberry blonde hair and blue eyes bounced up to them "Yes Madame Destler?" she asked.

Andre raised an eyebrow "Her?" he asked. Gabriella nodded "Yes, she's the Prima Ballerina I've chosen" she announced, making Maria gasp "Me? Really? Oh Thank you so much Madame I'll work very very hard!" she told her eagerly. She smiled and nodded "I'm sure you will child. Now go and finish warming up so we can begin" she told the girl, who jumped and ran off to tell her friends.

The managers simply shrugged and went away, once they were out of sight Gabriella began chuckling after them. A disaster still hadn't taught them to stay out of opera affairs had it? Suddenly she heard a familiar voice "Gabriella!" she called, causing her to look up. She smiled brightly "Why Christine, it's good to see you" she said as the prima donna came to her.

"Oh Raoul is going to be so happy!" she said "I'm expecting a son! Oh won't he be happy?" she asked. Gabriella chuckled "Oh yes, Raoul will be very excited" she replied, suddenly Christine gasped "You didn't tell me YOU were expecting again" she whispered so the others couldn't hear.

She smiled and laughed softly "I know, I've yet to tell, him" she whispered in reply. Christine sighed, her eyes softening "Tell my angel I'll be coming to visit soon alright? I've been doing a lot of paper work and negotiating my leave of absence while I'm having my son. Once everything is set, I'll come".

Before Gabriella could respond the rehearsal started, and the two women parted ways. When rehearsal was done she insructed her ballerinas before going to the stables and taking Abastor, riding him back home as fast as she could. She was so excited to tell Erik her news, so very very excited.

Meanwhile, Anne sat up on one of the swinging walkways, thinking. Her father hadn't seen her perform in so long, not since they moved out of the opera house. Her attention was snatched by one of the stage hands. He was new, and most of the ballet dancers didn't trust him.

"Hey there. You shouldn't be up here" he said. Anne merely laughed at him "What difference does it make. If I fell and got hurt it still wouldn't solve my problems" she told him sadly. He began retying one of the backdrops that had come loose "What problems you be havin?" he asked curiously.

She looked up at him "My father, he probably doesn't know I exist. And even my mother doesn't seem to love me anymore" she explained to him. Once he'd retyed the backdrop he turned and looked at her "What you need to do little lady, is get their attention" he told her. She sighed "How?" she asked.

He pulled something out of his pocket, taking her hand and pressing it into her palm "Go to America, and become a star" he whispered, "If they care about you, they'll go bring you home. If they don't, you'll have started a new life without them. You'll be a sensation!".

His idea, what a wonderful idea it was! She never would have thought of it herself "How do I get there?" she asked, springing to her feet. He smirked "That ticket is to a ship that leaves Calais in 2 days time. Be on the ship, you'll get to America" he replied before turning and heading off.

Excitement coarsed through her veins as she raced down to the dormitories, the ticket clenched tightly in her little grasp. She burst in, most of the ballerinas were asleep or out for the night, but the few that were awake stared up at her curiously.

Isabelle looked up "What are you doing Anne?" she asked. Anne began scribbling on a piece of paper before pulling out her small suitcase and throwing all her belongings into it "I'm going on a trip" she announced. Some of the ballerinas gasped "A trip? To where?" they asked.

She held up her ticket "America! The land of possibilities! I'm gonna be a star!" she told them all. Quickly Anne threw on her coat, Isabelle standing and trying to stop her "Wait, what about us? What about Jacob? Won't you miss us? And your mother..." Anne cut her off "I'll miss you all a bunch, but I have to do this!" she told them.

Finally she hugged Isabelle tightly "I'll write to you, and Jacob and Daniel. But now I must go. My ship leaves in 2 days!" she told them. They all gathered around her, ushering her out the door "Good Luck Anne! Don't forget us when you're famous!" they said.

Quickly and quietly she scampered out into the lobby of the Opera House. Stepping out the front door, she took a deep breath "Good Bye Paris" she said before turning and walking in the direction of Calais.

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><p>"Erik?" Gabriella called as she entered the house. No answer, big surprise, but that didn't mean he wasn't in the house. Sighing, she went into the library, and found him sitting in his armchair, his full attention on the text in front of him "Erik!" she said.<p>

He looked up at her and smiled "Ah, my love. You've finally returned!" he said, rising and going to meet her. As he wrapped his arms around her she laughed "Erik, Erik wait I need to tell you something" she told him. He took a step back and smiled at her "Yes?" he asked.

She swallowed almost nervously, he seemed in such a good mood for once, either this news would ruin it or make him even better. She sighed "Erik, we're expecting again" she admitted to him quietly. He stared at her in shock "Expecting what?" he asked slowly.

Gabriella took a step to him "Another child Erik" she told him gently. He began to tremble slightly "A... Another baby? Why you can't be serious! We agreed no more..." she cut him off "Erik, I know we agreed no more. But we're going to have another. I promise" she took his hand "I promise this will be the last one".

For what seemed like an eternity he simply stared at her, before wrapping his arms around her and beginning to cry a little "Another child, oh this is wonderful news" he said happily. She laughed "Don't get worked up Erik" she teased him "It's not even here yet".

Suddenly Daniel came into the door and peeked in "You told him?" he asked, when he saw the look on his father's face he smiled sheepishly and began backing out and towards the stairs before turning and darting upstairs to his room. Erik looked back at her "Am I the last to know?" he asked.

She sighed and put her hand on the good side of his face, stroking his cheek with her thumb "I didn't know how you'd take the news. I fully intended on telling you. I have told you haven't I?" she asked. He nodded "Yes, you did".

Suddenly Daniel came back down the stairs and raced out the door. Gabriella and Erik gave each other looks before following him out. When they caught up to him he was in the stables, tacking Blaze as quick as he could. "Daniel where do you think you're going? It's late you know" she told him. He shook his head "Anne's leaving! I have to stop her!" he said frantically.

Erik laughed before putting a hand on his son's shoulder "Daniel, I'm sure you just imagined something. Anne was at the Opera this morning, and through the whole rehearsal. Why would she suddenly leave?" he asked. Daniel shook his head "I... I don't..." he sighed "I guess you're right father" he said.

Gabriella smiled as she rubbed Blaze's nose "What gave you such silly ideas Daniel?" she asked. He shook his head "I don't know mother, I was in my room looking for something, and all the sudden I just thought of her, leaving. I had to go make sure for myself" he explained. Erik smiled "What if I went to check alright?" he asked.

Daniel nodded and Erik went into the stall across from Blaze's, where his prized friesian mare was kept. She snorted and pawed the ground as he tacked her and led her out "I'll be right back" he told them. With that, he swung onto his black horse and disappeared down the road towards Paris.

The two of them went and began feeding the horses "Anne wouldn't leave would she mother?" Daniel asked as he fed one of the ponies an apple. His mother was quiet for a moment before she looked at him "I never thought of her as being one to go anywhere by herself. But she's older now, I suppose".

Just as they were finishing thundering hooves were heard fast approaching. The black mare and rider who'd just vanished not even an hour ago had returned. Erik pulled his mare up, it was clear the horse had been run at her fastest.

He swallowed and looked her in the eyes "Daniel's right, she's gone" he told her. Gabriella trembled and he dismounted, taking her hand "Tomorrow, you must talk with the ballerinas and see if they know where she went" he told her gently.

Daniel quietly took his father's horse, who nearly snapped at him, and lead her away. She fell into him "Erik, this is all my fault" she began to cry. He hushed her "We'll get her back, once we find out where she went, I'll go get her myself" he told her "I promise".

**Hmmmm, quite a way to start this off hm? Well guess what? There's more adventure in store. But I'll actually admit now, what'll happen to Anne is NOT going to be what you expect! And I bet you're all expecting something BAD! Haha, well, if you have any suggestions, feel free to message me. REVIEW PLEASE! Good reviews will hopefully keep this story from falling into the gutter like it did last time. Thanks for Reading!**


	2. Not just a kid

**We're going to have a POV from Anne's perspective, because after this we won't be seeing her for quite a while, years in fact. This is just establishing her start in America, and it will kinda help later in the story when we meet up with her again how she ends up the way she is. **

**You'll also notice I've put in some LND bits, nothing major plotwise. But I thought it'd be cute to see some of the freaks here in Coney Island.**

**REVIEW ANSWERING! Yea, this is a first in my fics, but important for this one because well, the reviews are going to keep this alive. Even though I only have 1 review so far. COME ON PEOPLE!**

**Sandal Walker: Thank you so much for reviewing! Yes, I am sorta beating myself up for this one. Mostly because, there shouldn't be a need for a second attempt. The first one should have been it. This almost feels like the LND of Cesar, it was almost doomed from the start! Anne's going to have a big change from her low self-esteem! Wait until we see her when she's older! **

**Y****es, I do intend to keep Isabelle/Daniel, but obviously they're a lot younger here and time's going to be a bit slower this time around. So they won't be getting engaged/married for QUITE some time! Horse farm, and all the other stuff will be here also. And there'll actually sorta be 2 plots going at the same time. Erik and Abastor going after Anne, and Gabriella raising Kirsten and taking care of the horse farm. **

**PLEASE REVIEW everybody! Thanks for reading so far, the support is much appreciated. And here's chapter 2!**

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><p><strong>Anne's POV<strong>

I've never been anywhere by myself before, but it doesn't take me long to get to where the stagehand told me to go. The ticket got me a small cabin on the ship lower decks, headed to America. I've never traveled on a boat before, I'm excited.

As the boat pulls away from the dock, I can't help but feel slightly upset my father hasn't come to stop me. But who cares? Even if he doesn't come for me, I'll be a sensation in America, I'll be a star! But how does one become a star in America? I wasn't even a star in my home, sure I'm only 8, but I can go on pointe too! I can sing, I can dance, why shouldn't I be prima ballerina, or even prima donna?

My first day on the ship was fun enough, exploring the ship. But after that, I ran out of things to do. Sighing about halfway through the second day, I go into my cabin and pull my pointe shoes out of my suitcase, tying them on, I run up to the upper deck, which is particularly empty since it's a bit cloudy out.

After stretching and warming up, I rise up on my toes and begin to dance. We'd been rehearsing for an opera, so that's what I begin dancing. I knew the dance well enough, only stumbling a few times. The lack of music makes it a little hard, so I start humming as I dance. Suddenly a man's voice calls out to me and I spin around, stopping to stare at him.

He approaches me "Girl, you're quite good" he tells me. I smile modestly "Thank you" I reply politely. He seems to be examining me, I examine him back, he has a really funny mustache and I have to try very hard not to laugh at it, finally he speaks "You've had training as a ballerina I assume?" he asks, I nod "Yes Monsieur, my mother is the ballet mistress at the opera populaire" I inform him..

"Where're your folks?" he asks, I cross my arms and huff "In France, I ran away because they didn't care about me. I'm going to America to become a star" I reply, the bitterness in my voice catching me by surprise. I've never spoken of my parents so coldly before.

He raises an eyebrow "You think you'll just waltz into America and become a sensation overnight? You're talented, but there are lots of talented people in America. What makes you so special?" he asks, almost as if he testing me.

I narrow my eyes "Because I can do anything those grown up people can do, and do it better! And I'm only 8!" I reply. He puts a hand in his pocket and pulls out a card "Well young lady, you're in luck. See, my friend is a producer in New York where we'll be docking" he tells me as he hands me the card "Would you like to meet him?". "Like it? I'd LOVE it!" I answer quickly.

He smiles "Well, you're going to need a lot more than ballet to be a star kid. You're gonna need to be able to sing, and do some different dancing. This ballet isn't enough over in America". We begin to talk, and pretty soon I find myself in the midst of the biggest and busiest city I've ever seen, New York.

My newfound friend, Mr. Stone, after getting me through Ellis Island, brings me to a place called Coney Island. The most bizarre place I've ever seen. There are people here with worse deformities than my father! Mr. Stone brings me into a small theatre and leads me up to a man "Hey Jim, I found someone who'd like to audition" he tells him.

The man looks at me and raises an eyebrow 'Pete, that's just a kid" he says. Mr. Stone reaches into his jacket and hands the producer a large stack of green paper, though I'm not from America, and haven't seen any of their currency, I can tell this is money.

He looks back at me "Get on stage and get in the lineup with the rest of em, we'll see what you got kid" he says, turning and walking away. I look up at Mr. Stone and he smiles "Girl, good luck, If you make it here you'll be a star in no time" he says. I look up at him "You promise me?", there's a moment before he nods "I promise".

There are all adults here auditioning, and I feel very small compared to them as we line up on the stage, behind a white line that has been drawn on the floor. One by one they all go up, sing and dance, and answer questions. Some of the stories they tell are fascinating. One of them started when his sister refused to go to dance class, another couldn't sing at all, but was an amazing dancer. I certainly hope I can sing.

When it was my turn I stepped foreward, my only problem was that I didn't know what to sing. I hadn't prepared at all. The producer looks up at me from his spot a few rows back in the audience "Well kid, let's go! I don't got all day!". What should I do, wait! My father wrote his own songs on the spot all the time, maybe I could just make it up like he did!

But there's no music? How am I supposed to make up my own words and my own melody? The producer begins to grow impatient, and his pen taps against the back of one of the seats as he waits for me to start. It's not or never, either I'll make it, or I won't.

I open my mouth, and start singing whatever comes to my head "Give me somebody, to dance for. Give me somebody, to show. Let me wake up in the morning to find, I have somewhere exciting to go!" I glance at the producer and he nods, I must be doing good then.

"To have something that I can believe in, to have someone to be. Use me, choose me. God I'm a dancer, a dancer dances. Give me somebody to dance with, give me a place to fit in! Help me return to the world of living, by showing me how to begin!" the words surprise me, I've never sung like this before, the style, or the words.

And suddenly I'm dancing, I don't exactly know the movements I'm doing, but whatever it is it feels right. And the producer hasn't yelled at me to stop, so I keep going "Play, me the music. Give me a chance to come through! All I ever needed was the music, and the mirror, and the chance to dance, for you".

"Give me a job and you instantly get me involved! Give me a job and the rest of the stuff will get solved! Put me to work, you would think that by now I'm allowed. I'll do, you proud!" I glance back, to my surprise some of the other people auditioning are looking at me with shocked expressions on their faces.

I keep on going, because there's no way I'm stopping now! "Throw me a rope to grab on to! Help me to prove that I'm strong! Give me the chance to look foreward to sayin 'Hey listen they're playing my song!'. Play, me the music! Give me a chance to come through. All I ever needed, was the music, and the mirror, and the chance, to dance!".

Dancing comes easy, and if I learned one thing from some of the dancers at the opera house, it was how to sell something even if you had no idea what you were doing. The producer was still sitting quietly as I continued "Play me the music! Play me the music, play me the music!" I was starting to run out of lyrics now, time to finish.

Finishing is easy, just reusing some of the other words "Give me a chance to come through! All I ever needed, was the music, and the mirror, and the chance, to dance!" I hold out the last note as long as I can before spinning and finishing, panting slightly.

There's a long bit of silence before I stand up "You speak english?" he asks. I swallow "Yes" I reply. Mr. Stone had made sure of that while we were on our way here, he taught me how to speak pretty well. But if you wanted me to write or read anything, that would be a totally different story.

"Where you from?" he asks me, I look down "Paris, France" I reply. He keeps on with the questions "Where'd you learn to dance?" "I learned from my mother, she's the ballet mistress at the Opera Populaire". There's a bit of a silence as he writes something down "Isn't that the place where they had that big accident a few years ago.

Yes, that's right, the disaster caused by my father, I nod "Speak up!" "Yes! Yes it is!" I nearly yell at him. He waves his hand "That's all I need from you" he replies. I hang my head and get back in my spot behind the white line.

I blew it, I really blew it, how could I do a thing like that? I've only been here a day not even a day! But I need this job so bad! If I don't get it, how will I survive in this strange country? I should have throught through this harder.

After a few more things he sends us down to a room to learn a song and dance routine. It's a bit hard to keep up with the adults at first, but as we learn the dance I begin to keep up with them. I should be able to shouldn't I? I used to dance with the older girls all the time in the ballet!

We head back upstairs once our routine is learned and begin dancing again. I try my best to sell it like I did my solo song, hoping he'll notice me. He must be considering me, after all, some of the auditioners have already been elimited. I've come so far, but even so it could be yes it could be no. I'm so scared, I wish Isabelle were here to make things better.

Finally we finish and he comes onto the stage, selecting people and writing down names on slips of paper. He tells them they've made it into the show and he's sending them over to the other producer who's running it. Finally he reaches me "You got a lot of guts comin here kid" he says.

I nod "Yes sir" I reply "I'd like to take you on as a personal project" he tells me. I look up at him in astonishment "You want me?" I ask, he nods "I think you have what it takes" he hands me a piece of paper, with a lot of writing on it "Now if you just sign this contract, I'll make you a star".

What does this paper even say? Contract? Well, he said if I signed it he'd make me a star? How could there be anything bad with that? I sign my name on the line he pointed at and he takes the paper "Be here tomorrow, 8 in the morning sharp. We're going to have to start on your new image and have your acts made by the start of next season".

I follow him out before he walks away down the street. Mr. Stone was waiting for me "I'm sorry girl" he says, patting my shoulder. I look up at him "Why're you sorry?" I ask, he sighs "You didn't get in the chorus for that show" he replies. I laughed "No, even better! I'm gonna be a star! He wants me as his solo project!".

He smiles broadly "Well congratulations! But I imagine you'll be needed a place to stay right?" he asks. I sigh, yes I do don't I? I nod and he laughs "Well girl, I know exactly who'll take you in! Come with me!" he takes my hand and begins leading me through the crowded streets.

Mr. Stone takes me into Coney Island, leading me up to a small house and knocking on the door. A girl, who looks to be about 2 years younger than me answers the door "Hello Ariel. Would you mind getting your daddy?" he asks. The little girl nods before closing the door.

Suddenly a very large man steps out, and I shrink back. This guy's huge, and covered in black lines? He doesn't seem angry though, he's actually smiling quite kindly at me "Alf, you look good!" Mr. Stone greets him. He nods "Yes, you as well Pete. Now who's this?" he asks, still looking at me.

He looks down at me "This is Anne, she's just come here from France and has no family to speak of. I thought maybe, you'd watch her?" he asked. The little girl who's answered the door before was looking at me curiously from behind her father.

The big man, Alf, nodded "She's no family at all?" he asked, I nodded "I ran away from home sir" I admit. His gruff exterior softens "Well you are welcome here. But you must have business, that Mr. Stone is bringing you here" he says. Mr. Stone nods "Jim's decided to take her on and train her to be a showgirl next season".

"You know I cannot bring her anywhere. You'll have to bring her to where ever she needs to go" he tells him, Mr. Stone nods "It can, and will, be arranged. What time you need to be there girl?" he asks "8 sharp" I reply.

It was settled then, and he bid farewell, leaving me on these people's doorstep. He ushers me inside "Come on in, don't be shy. We don't bite" he tells me as he closes the door behind me. The little girl smiles brightly "Are you going to be my sister now? I've always wanted one!" she tells me.

I laugh "I guess I am. My name's Anne" I say, she bounces "My name's Ariel, Miss Ariel Fleck". Suddenly I notice her leg, one of her legs has a strange metal brace on it "What's that?" I ask. She smiles "Oh, well you see, my leg was born a little twisted. But this here brace keeps it straight" she tells me happily.

Alf, or as I've now found out, Mr. Fleck, comes up to me "You'll be sleeping in Ariel's room. I'll get you a bed tomorrow, you don't mind sharing a bed for tonight do you?" he asks. I shake my head "Not at all" I reply.

"Um, sir, what's that all over your head?" I ask him, trying not to sound rude. He just laughs at me "They're called Tattoos, haven't you ever seen them before?". I shake my head "Never sir, they don't have those in France that I've ever seen", he smiles "Well in Coney Island, lots of the freaks have them, so you'll be seeing lots of them". I don't know this man very well, but I already like this little family.

The next morning I went to the theatre, showing up at 8 sharp just like he'd asked. I found out his name was Mr. Smith, and he went right down to business, dragging me down to a semstress and having her measure me for a 'rehearsal' costume, and for my other 2 costumes I was to have. He told her he didn't want them as 'skimpy' as the older girls, not yet anyway.

I was to be 'Miss Destler, The sweetheart of France' or something like that. He said my name was rather grown up sounding, but I'd grow into it. Now he started working on my first routine, my 'showgirl' routine as he called it. They play odd music on the pianos here in America, it's called 'Ragtime'. I like it, it's much more upbeat than what was normally played at the opera.

My premier was made the spring after I arrived in America. By now I'd learned my 2 acts. My first being what most girls seemed to do here, strutting around in high heels and wearing costumes that barely covered, doing some high kicks and singing upbeat songs about silly things that didn't mean anything to me. I suppose I'd found out what the word 'skimpy' meant hadn't I?

The second act, was my 'special' act, where I had to dance, en pointe, on a high wire. On the high wire, I have to be completely concentrated on balancing, and dancing correctly. It has to be perfect every time, because as Mr. Smith tells me often 'Nobody pays to see under the top'.

Crowds go crazy for me, and they're not all stiff and quiet like at the opera. If they like something here, they let you know! They hoot, they holler, they clap and whistle at me as I perform. Performing had always been enjoyable, but until now I'd never been able to actually say it was 'fun'.

America isn't what I expected at all, but who cares? I'm a star already, a sensation! Aren't I? Even though father and mother haven't come for me yet, but obviously I don't need them do I? I'm better off without them! Aren't I? My heart aches a bit whenever I think about them, but I am better without them, aren't I?

My new family is just as nice as they are. Treating me like family, which is what they have become to me, my family. Ariel is the sister I never had, and Mr. Fleck supports me in all that I do. But sometimes, when I see Ariel and Mr. Fleck together, my heart aches for my own father.

Today, after my final performance Mr. Smith comes into my dressing room "Ah! There's my star! Hey kid, showbiz all you thought it would be?" he asks. I smile and nod "Oh yes, very much so. I love it!" I tell him. He nods "I'm glad, you've already become a sensation in just a month! So we're boosting you to 4 shows a day instead of 3".

"That sounds very good" I tell him as I take off my feathered headdress. It only has 1 white feather on it now, but the other show girls tell me, as tradition, after every successful season I get to add a feather. Some of the girls have 7 feathers on theirs, all in a fan. I hope to have one like that soon.

He pulls up a chair and sits in front of me "Listen kid, these Coney Island crowds, they're nothing. Our real goal is to go here" he pulls out a paper and hands it to me, I have to wonder where he pulls these papers from. I still remember when he first handed me my contract to make me a star.

"Atlantic City, that's where all the real stars go. Imagine how you'll shine there! You'll be on the cover of every newspaper, a sensation, word of you will spread across all America, and across the oceans to Europe!" he tells me, sounding like he's getting a little excited.

Atlantic City huh? Sounds like a good place, I mean I don't mind Coney Island, but I guess I wouldn't mind more, and maybe there's more crowds there. I don't mind the crowds here, I love them. But more of what I'm already getting, would be wonderful. "How long til I can go there?" I ask him.

Mr. Smith stands "We'll head there when you're 11, so that's 3 years. We want your fame to gather up here before we hit the road for the big time! And you'll be better off being a little older anyway" he tells me. With that he leaves me alone in my dressing room.

I look back down at the paper in my hands, look at all the acts here! Diving horses, magicians, a motercycle on a high wire? I thought my dancing was impressive on that high wire! Now they're driving automobils on it!

That's another thing about America that's different. There's no horses! They all drive these horseless carriages, called 'Automobils'. I've gotten to ride in Mr. White's a few times, and it's much faster than any horse. Even Cesar could never go as fast as an automobil.

Cesar, I wonder how mother is doing. I feel a little guilty leaving her, since it was father I was mainly getting back at. But I'm sure she's fine, she had plenty of ballerinas, and I'd heard rumors she was pregnant with another child. I'm sure if they were true she's had it by now, and she's happy.

Something occurs to me as I stare at the paper for Coney Island. What about the Flecks? They'd come with me surely, I change and head home. I'm able to come and go by myself now, but I always have to be home before dark.

Once I enter the front door Ariel skips up to me "What's that?" she asks. I hand it to her "Somewhere my producer wants me to go" I tell her. We enter the kitchen where Mr. Fleck is cooking something "There you are! I was starting to get a bit worried, it's almost dark out!" he tells me.

I smile "Sorry Mr. Fleck, I got a little held up in my dressing room today" I tell him, sitting at the table with Ariel as the examines the picture of Atlantic City. "Oh? That producer hold you up hm? What'd he have to say?" he asks.

"Well, he wants me to go to Atlantic City in 3 years time" I tell him. He spins around to face me "Atlantic City?" he asks, almost in shock "Yes" I answer as Ariel hands him the paper "You'd come with me, wouldn't you?". There's a long silence before he hands the paper back to me "No, we wouldn't be going with you".

I stand up "But, I couldn't possibly go somewhere without you and Ariel!" I tell him. He sighs "I have to raise Ariel here, this is where we belong. You're going to be a showgirl, and that is where showgirls go. You'll find someone, and who knows, maybe you'll come visit during the off season?" he asks.

Ariel hugs me "Can't I go daddy?" she asks. He picks her up "No Ariel, you have to stay here. But Miss Anne is going to be famous. Maybe they'll put you in one of those moving pictures" he tells me.

He finishes making dinner and we all sit down to eat. The world is moving so fast now, I feel like my life's finally begun at last. But I can't help but feel that something is missing. I know I miss father, but that's not the something, it's something else. But what?


	3. Our Children

**Neverland Child: Thanks for finally reviewing! Part of the reason I rewrote this sequel was so my most loyal follower of the story could actually read it without having any conflicts! I will check out your story when I get the chance. I actually think I read the first chapter one day when you'd first started but ended up getting pulled away by something else. So I will try to get back to that soon! **

**As for Erik being nice, well, when he finds Anne and her producer, well he might not be very happy with some of the things going on there, therefore, he won't be very nice about it. Don't worry though, the things Anne does will not be anything compared to the original. Remember she'll only be 13, too young to even think about the things she did. But I'd think the whole 'showgirl' thing isn't going to sit well with Erik. Anne does need to learn something doesn't she, ah, a story with a message at the end! haha, too bad she'll have to learn the hard way...**

**Sandal Walker:**** Thanks for the review. Yes, kids don't ever read the contracts do they? And the time period makes it even worse since there are no child labor laws, Mr. Smith can do just about anything he wants with Anne. But we'll get to that when it comes. **

**Haha yea, I'm loving your sequel so far! I can't remember if I reviewed the last chapter, if I didn't, consider this my review. It was great! Update soon! Haha, you'll get better reviews from me after you update, I promise. **

**EVERYBODY ELSE! PLEASE REVIEW! What's it take to get reviews around here anyway? Want me to do some flips? Put my foot behind my head? What? Alright, well thanks for reading anyway, here's the next chapter**

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><p><strong>Gabriella POV<strong>

It's been almost 5 years since the last time I saw Anne, more than that for Erik. When I asked the ballerinas it took me almost a year to finally get Isabelle to tell me the truth, that Anne had gone to America because she thought Erik didn't love her anymore and she wanted to be loved. So she left to become a star.

By the time we'd found out, it was too late to do anything. I'd just had our newest daughter, Kirsten, and we couldn't afford to have Erik leave to America in search of Anne, we could only hope either she'd return, or that she was happy where ever she may be.

But as the years wore on, I began to feel more and more horrible. Erik hadn't even said Anne's name in almost a year, and Kirsten didn't know she had a sister. Erik had told Daniel never to speak of her ever again. He thinks Anne was ungrateful and selfish, wanting to run away and be a star. I never had the heart to tell him, but after paying a visit to Cesar's grave, I decided it was time to tell the truth.

Erik was sitting behind his desk in his office when I entered. I'd waited until Kirsten had gone to take a nap and Daniel was out riding his pony. "Erik?" he looked up at me "What is it? I'm busy" he tells me, trying to be gentle.

I walk over to the desk "Erik, I, I need to tell you something". He looks down at his paper and continues his work "And what would that be my dear?" he asks. I swallow "Anne didn't run away just to become a star, she..." my voice trails off as his eyes meet with mine.

He stands, coming around the desk "Why then? Why has she left?" he questions softly. I look down "She ran away because of you" I tell him, he takes a step back in surprise "Me? Why? What did I..." I cut him off, tears streaming down my face "Erik she left because you wouldn't come to the opera to see her!" I nearly scream at him.

This was all his fault! He couldn't spare, 1 moment to go see his own daughter, in an opera house that he'd controlled for years? What if Anne was in trouble now? What if she was dead? I sink to the floor and begin to sob, Erik kneels next to me, taking my hand.

"Why didn't you tell me before?" he asks, his voice sounds so broken. I look up at him "I didn't have the heart to tell you. She thought you didn't love her anymore" I admit, in some ways it feels good to get this off my chest, in others it hurts more than anything.

He's trembling, and I stand, helping him into a chair and wiping the tears from my eyes "I... I need to go get her then" he says, his voice shaking slightly "I need to go now!" he stands.

"Erik wait!" he stops and looks at me "Maybe I should go..." he shakes his head "No, I'm the only one who can do this!" he tells me firmly. He faces me, rubbing my arms gently "I have to".

Just then Kirsten walks into the room, she looks just like I did when I was her age, brown curly hair and soft brown eyes. "Daddy why're you crying?" she asks innocently, he goes and picks her up "Because, Daddy has to go away for a little while" he tells her.

She blinks in confusion "Go away? Where are you going? Why are you going there?" she asks him. He brings her into the library and sits in his favorite arm chair, letting her sit on his lap "I have to go get something, but I'll be back in a few months, I promise".

The rest of the day is spent with Kirsten, and later Daniel after he comes in from his ride. That night Erik insists on tucking them in and kissing them goodnight. Once we're alone in our bedroom he takes me into his arms "I love you" I whisper softly.

He wraps his arms around me "I'll bring her home, I promise" he murmers into my hair. I sigh "You shouldn't go alone" I tell him "You should bring one of the horses with you, you'll need transportation".

Erik seems to think about this before he kisses the top of my head "I know which horse I'll take" he says quietly. I begin falling asleep, but before I do he tips my head up and we kiss.

I fell asleep in his arms, I know I did. But when I wake the next morning, he's gone. Surely he didn't leave so suddenly, what about the farm? He was in charge of everything. And the children, and, he didn't even say goodbye!

Quickly I sit up, kicking off the sheets I race around the room. The small suitcase we had in the closet is gone, along with some of his favorite clothes. His 'Opera Ghost' money that we kept in the night table drawer for emergencies, is also gone.

Not wanting to wake the children since it's still early, I pull on my robe and head outside to the stables. Whenever I was upset and Erik wasn't there, I could count on Abastor. I enter the stallion barn and they all prick their ears at me. But then I see it, Abstor's stall is empty. Maybe he's outside in the pasture, we didn't always bring him in.

I go outside, checking every pasture, no Abastor. Erik wouldn't have, he couldn't have, there's only 1 final way to find out! I run back into the barn, tearing open the tack room door. He did, Abastor's tack is gone. That couldn't only mean one thing, that he'd taken Abastor with him.

Trembling, I swallow back the tears that threaten to spring to my eyes. I head into the other barn, Erik's horse, Feu Sombre, for once in her life, doesn't snap at me when I enter the stable. Instead she reaches her nose out and nuzzles my arm as I lean brokenly on her stall door.

I visit with the other horses briefly, and though under normal circumstances they'd make me happy, right now nothing can fix the giant gaping hole in my heart. First Anne, then Erik, and Abastor. Who, or what, else would I lose?

Sighing, I go back into the house and up to out bedroom. Suddenly my eye catches on a piece of paper sitting on Erik's pillow. I hadn't noticed it in my panic, and I walk over to it, picking it up.

It reads _Dear Gabriella, I did not intend to leave to suddenly, but I fear for Anne's welfare and happiness, and the sooner I get to her, the better. This is all my fault, and if something has happened to her, I don't know what I'll do. Know that I love you, and that as soon as I find Anne we'll be returning. Also know that, no matter what happens, and no matter where I go. I will always love you. Daniel will be able to help you with the farm, and everything you need should be in my office. Tell them both that I love them, and I will be home soon. Your, Erik_.

I stare at the paper for a very long time, lost in thought. Finally I fold it up, placing it in the night table drawer. I have to keep going, even though Erik isn't here, there is work to be done. I dress and go to Daniel's bedroom, where he is pulling on his boots "Mother, I'm going to feed the horses today. You can go to work if you like" he tells me.

He meets me at his bedroom door and smiles at me "Don't worry mother, father taught me everything" he says confidently before running down the stairs and out the front door. I sigh, going to the door next to his, where Kirsten is still sleeping.

"Kirsten" I say, nudging her gently. She blinks up at me "Hi Mama. Where's Daddy? He usually gets me up" she says groggily as she sits up. I smile softly "Darling you remember your daddy said he had to go away for a little while. Remember?" I tell her. She rubs her eyes and nods "Oh yea, I remember. Well what are we doin today then?" she asks.

I pull out one of her dresses and hand it to her "Well, I have to go to the Opera Populaire to work. Would you like to come?" I ask her. Her eyes widen and she nods "Oh yes mama! I'll be on my best behavior I promise!" she said.

Leaving her to get dresses, I go outside and back out to the stables. We have a couple of carriage horses, my personal favorite being our big grey Irish Draught named Shamrock. I bring him out and begin putting the harness on him, this was the one thing I found I could do that Erik could never figure out. He always had trouble for some reason.

By the time Kirsten comes out I've gotten Shamrock hooked to our small cart, which I would be able to drive. Kirsten climbed into the cart and I got in next to her, flicking the reins. Shamrock tossed his head before starting foreward in a plain trot.

Kirsten giggled "Can I drive him?" she asked as we headed towards Paris. I handed her the reins "Don't pull on them or he'll stop" I tell her. As we head into the city I take the reins back, not wanting her to direct Shamrock into any messes.

Finally we reach the opera house and the stablehands take my horse. Taking Kirsten's hand, I lead her to the stage where everyone is warming up. Today would be our final dress rehearsal before our next Opera.

Kirsten follows me out onto the stage quietly. Raoul is talking with Christine and when she sees me and waves me over, I join them. "Gabriella, You will never believe what Meg has found!" she pauses as she notices Kirsten "Why, your daughter is so big now! I remember when she was small!" she says. I smile "Kirsten, you remember the Countess don't you?" I ask her.

She nods "I remember her! She's still pretty Mama" she replies. Christine looks at me "After rehearsal we're going to the beach for a picnic with our son Gustave. I promised him, would you care to join us?" she asked. I smiled "I would be delighted to" I reply politely. She smiles brightly "We shall see you then!" she calls as she walks away, rehearsals are starting.

The rehearsal goes by too quickly, but I'm actually a bit excited, maybe this outing would help me forget about Erik. But then again, it was so soon, was this wrong? I didn't think so, so when rehearsal was over me and Kirsten got in our cart and I followed Christine's carriage to the beach.

Raoul and his son were waiting for us when we got their. I unhitched my horse, tying him to a tree by the beach where there was some grass for him to eat. Kirsten notices Gustave and hides behind me shyly, this is surprising, she's usually so confident and brave. It occurs to me though, she's never met anyone her own age, let alone a boy.

Christine chuckles "She's shy too? Poor Gustave is always shaking when there are strangers. Gustave" she nudges the boy gently to get his attention "Why don't you say hello" she says.

The boy peaks out from his hiding spot behind Raoul as he pushes his son in front of them, I do the same with Kirsten. They both look down, fiddling with their hands before he swallows and bows "Good Day" he says, trying to be polite. She curties "Good Day" she says just as polite.

Suddenly Kirsten looks up "Hey, you wanna go by the water?" she asks. He shakes his head "I... I don't know how to swim" he admits. She chuckles "Well that's ok. We can stay where it's shallow! I dont' know how to swim either".

The two of them take off running towards the water. "NOT SO FAST!" Raoul calls, he sighs defeatedly "He didn't hear me", Christine laughs "Oh he heard you, he'd just not listening" she said as we sat down on the blanket Raoul had spread out.

I smile "All children are like that" I comment. Raoul sighs "What's their hurry?" he asks, Christine watches then quietly "I'm happy they've already become friends". Quietly I watch as Gustave and Kirsten poke at something near the waters edge. I notice it's just a piece of seaweed, and I giggle.

Christine looks down "Our children... " she murmers, taking Raoul's hand "I never thought things could be this way" she admitted. I looked at her curiously "What do you mean?" I asked, she looked up at me "Well, after everything that happened with Erik, I couldn't have ever imagined his daughter would be playing with my and Raoul's son".

Erik, I wonder where he is, and I look at her "Yes, our children. I never would have guessed it either" I say. Raoul stands up "Gustave! You and Kirsten put those rocks down!" he calls, running down the beach after them. Playfully Gustave grabs Kirsten's hand and they run further down the beach away from him.

Sighing, I look at Christine "Erik left me this morning" I told her. She looks up at me "Left?" she asks. I nod "He went to get Anne, in America", Christine gasps "America? That's so far!".

"But when he returns we'll have Anne back again!" I tell her, and myself, I have to keep reassuring myself that. Suddenly Christine giggles and I look up to see Raoul running as Gustave and Kirsten chase him, trying to splash him with water.

She smiles softly "Look how they're laughing. Gustave's never laughed like that before" she admits gently. I watch Kirsten "She seems so... happy. But she always seems happy" I tell her "I wonder sometimes if I give her enough".

Christine smiles "I'm sure you do. Now, don't you want to hear about what Meg found?" she asks excitedly. I glance at the children as they tackle Raoul into the shallows of the water. I look at Christine "Sure, what did Meg find?" I ask.

We talk about Meg's discovery of 'Carlotta stating she'll die an old hag before she marries anyone else' for a little while. I still don't even know why it mattered so much to us, maybe because Carlotta was such a large part of our lives growing up.

Apparently Carlotta and Piangi had been engaged and were to be married after the Phantom was captured. I'm sure she had no idea that, he would pass. She wore black for a whole year, which made me and Christine chuckle, because we're sure she'd never worn anything black her whole life.

Finally Raoul rejoins us, his white suit soaked with sea water and his hat ruined. He sighs in exhaustion as he sits on the blanket, Kirsten and Gustave are now making footprints in the sand and drawing pictures with sticks.

"We should really head home. Daniel will wonder what's become of us" I tell them as I stand. Christine smiles "Oh you must visit more often! Especially Kirsten, I'm sure Gustave will want to play some more" she says.

Raoul gets up, and begins calling them. Reluctantly they return to us, both covered in sand and salt water. "Oh Kirsten, salt water's not good for the cart" I tell her, she smiles broadly "Did you see us Mama?" she asks cheerfully. I nod "Yes dear, I saw you. Did you have fun?" I ask.

Gustave nods "Oh yes, can Kirsten play more soon?" he asks, panting slightly from all the running. I smile "I don't see why not. Good Bye Christine, Raoul, Thank you for a wonderful evening" I call as I lead Kirsten back up.

Shamrock is hooked to the cart easily and I begin driving us back home. Kirsten sits quietly watching everything before she up at the sky. Though it's still light out, some of the stars have already come out. She blinks up at them "Mama, even though Daddy's really far away, does he see the same sky?" she asks.

I think for a moment before answering "Yes, he sees the same moon, the same stars, the same sky" I reply as we near the stables. She sighs, almost sadly "I miss daddy" she tells me. I wrap my arm around her and let her lean into my side "I miss him too, but he'll be back soon. He promised" I tell her.

She yawns "Does he love me?" she asks "Yes of course he does". Kirsten begins to fall asleep "Do you promise he loves me?" she asks, I struggle to hold back my tears "Yes I promise" I say. She closes her eyes "I'm glad" she murmers before falling asleep.

Our children, how did our family get so torn apart? Even when Anne returns, somewhere, deep down, I know things can never be as they were before. Anne won't be the innocent girl we raised, she'll be changed. Who knew what had happened in these 5 years, in a strange country.

We can never go back to before, no matter how much we might want to. As Erik would tell me, what's done is done. But what's done might be something horrible. I wish so much Erik and Anne would just get home, I don't think I can do everything on my own. I used to be able to, but thigns change. I need Erik, and I need him now.


	4. America?

**Hello everybody! Here's the next chapter! And we'll be following Erik here. And I'm just inform you ahead of time. We're going to be going back and forth between Erik and Gabriella POV's every other chapter. So the next chapter will be from Gabriella's POV, and then back to Erik after that. So don't get confused. **

**And this is gonna be pretty interesting, because if one POV ends in a cliffhanger, then you'll have to wait 2 chapters to find out what happens. Good luck ;P**

**Sandal Walker: Yea, the family is all nice right? Haha, kinda a nice change from Love Never Dies right? Raoul/Christine never bothers me, what bothers me is how many people are against it and how many people make Raoul abusive in the relationship when they do have it. Come on really?**

**Haha I went back and read it and got a bit of a Bambi vibe too! Which is weird cause I was listening to something TOTALLY different when I wrote it. Haha, Gustave in general kinda reminds me of Bambi. Has a nice loving mother that everybody loves but gets killed anyway (That won't happen in my thing I assure you)**

**Alrighty then. Here we go. PLEASE REVIEW! And thanks for reading!**

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><p><strong>Erik POV<strong>

Abastor is a good horse, I never had any doubts of that. But when he saw the ship that would take us to America, something inside him snapped. He didn't even look like the same horse, rearing and pawing the air, letting out crazed piercing screams.

I thought Abastor would trust me, but obviously he didn't, as he refused to get on the ship without Gabriella at his side. The crew members took a good 2 hours before they finally were able to get the stallion onto the ship, after another hour once we were underway, they managed to get him in the stall.

Did he think we were leaving Gabriella forever? Once the crew members cleared out of the holding area, I went up to the window of the stallion's stall door "Abastor, we'll return" I tell him. Gabriella talked to her horses all the time, my horses never needed talking to, I just rode and handled them in silence. But this horse was different, of course, he was Cesar's son. Cesar, who if you asked him something he'd actually give you an answer.

A grey nose poked it's way to the window and sniffed my hand before snorting and going away. I swallowed, yes he seemed to respond to my talking to him. "We're going to get Anne, and I'm trusting you to help me bring her home safely. You can do that can't you?" I ask him. His nose once again appears in the window and I place my hand on it.

This mutual agreement seemed to calm him, for as we arrived in America, he was calm and collected. The noble stallion we knew, loved, and trusted. However, though that problem was solved, another, much worse problem surfaced.

Standing on the deck of the ship, looking out over the strange country in front of me, I realized that finding Anne here would be like finding a needle in a haystack. It was so big, and there were so many people, from all different places. Where would I even start to look for her here?

Going through Ellis Island was an, unpleasant experience. But I reminded myself that I was doing it for Anne's sake. After all, she must have come through here as well, and how far could a little girl have gone from here?

Abastor took much longer getting through, at first I thought they held him away from me because of my face, but I noticed other passengers who had animals having the same difficulty, and I relaxed ever so slightly.

Finally my horse was handed over to me, and we headed into this city. It was much different, not a horse on the street, instead they had automobils that traveled just as fast, if not faster than horses. I rested a hand on Abastor's grey neck for reassurance as he tossed his head in fright at sight of them.

Where to start looking? There was no way I'd find her here, not a chance in the world. Mounting Abastor, I asked him forward, riding him in the street as though he were an automobil. Each street we turned down looked exactly the same as the last, were we going in Circles? I wouldn't have known. After riding for what seemed like forever, we ended up in an even stranger part of the city, Coney Island.

This place, I'd never seen anything quite like it, never even imagined it in my wildest dreams! Freaks, freaks like me, so many of them it made my head whirl. Nobody paid any mind to me, or my stallion. I was, normal here? I continued riding until it began to grow dark and bright flashy lights came on, illuminating everything in almost a haunting kind of way. That was when I decided it was time to find a place to stay.

Turning Abastor, I didn't see the little girl in black running up to my horse. If not for her father's bark, me and Abastor might have run her over by mistake. I stopped Abastor as she came up to him "Wow sir! I've never seen a horse as pretty as yours!" she said, stroking his neck.

I swallowed in nervousness, she was speaking english. How good was my english? I blink "Errr, T... Thank You" I stammer. Her father, a man that is almost as big as Abastor, comes up and takes his daughter's hand "Ariel, you don't run up to horses in such a manner. What if he'd spooked and hurt you?" he asked. The girl, Ariel, hung her head sadly "Sorry Papa" she replied.

This pair made my heart ache for my own little girl, as they were about to leave I called out "Um, Monsiuer! Have you perhaps seen a little girl by the name of Anne Destler?" I ask. He freezes on the spot, turning and looking up at me "Anne? You mean 'Little Miss Destler'?" he asks.

Little Miss Destler? Was that what they were calling her now, I merely nodded and he approached my horse, his eyes widening slightly as he noticed my mask "Do you have a place to stay tonight? Actually, no time for that, come with me Sir!" he said. He took my horse's reins and began leading me into Coney Island, to his house.

Not sure what was going on, I followed him almost in a daze into his house, Abastor was tied outside. He told me to sit down "Sir your name is Erik Destler!" he announced, seeming excited. How did this man know my name? I nod "Yes, I'm aware of my name" I reply as calmly as I can muster. He shakes my hand "You're Anne's father! It's an honor to meet you sir, Anne was such a pleasure".

I stand "What do you mean a pleasure?" I demand, feeling the Phantom begin to rise, if this man has done anything to her. He nodded, unintimidated "Yes, she stayed with me and my daughter for almost 4 years. Until that producer of hers decided to take her to Atlantic City" he informed me.

His daughter, who was sitting on the floor playing with the brace on her leg sighed sadly "I miss her, she was so fun to play with" she says. The man stands "Sir she was waiting for such a long time! I didn't think you'd come for her after so long, oh she'll be very please to see you sir!" he says.

"Where is this 'Atlantic City'? Where is she there?" I demand, he goes and shuffles through papers "Atlantic City is south of here, on the coast. It's where all the big performers and stars go. I believe their season starts tomorrow. She'll be performing for that!" he tells me.

He ushers me out the door "Sir, you'll never make it to there for opening day, but if you do, that's your best chance to see her. She's going to be at the opening ceremonies. Hurry Hurry!" he pushes me towards Abastor. Once I'm mounted he intructs me how to get out of the city "Just go, you'll know it when you see it!" he tells me.

I bow my head "Thank you Monsieur. I swear to repay you for your kindness" I say. He pats Abastor's neck as the grey stallion prances excitedly in place "No need to thank me Sir, her happiness is payment enough. Now go!" he said. I kick Abastor and we take off into the street.

Following the man's instructions, I cross a bridge and manage to get out of the crazy city. Even at this late hour, there were lights and people everywhere, they lit the way, but made it incredibly difficult to go very far very fast. Once out of the city, it became a lot easier, and Abastor and I set out to this 'Atlantic City'.

Galloping through the night, most horses would have tired by now. But Abastor's pace never slowed, and as the sun began to rise, something came into view. Another place, like Coney Island, but no freaks like me, here, there was nothing but talent.

People crowded the gates, and though according to my pocket watch it was only 8 in the morning, they were already finding prime spots for the opening ceremonies that would start, apparently, at 10.

Waiting for Anne to come was one of the hardest things I ever did. Abastor stood quietly now, spent from his long midnight ride. I patted him on the neck and whispered thanks under my breath, to both him, and his father.

Suddenly music started, and of all the things to expect, I would have never expected what I saw right then. Anne, lowered down on a red velvet swing, dressed in something a prostitute would wear, but with more sparkles. And on her head she wore a headdress with 5 white feathers on it, all spread out in a fan.

She had changed, oh my little girl, she was only 13! 13 and she looked like she was 18, all made up. She giggled and sang "Let's run away to Atlantic City, let's feel the wind in our hair! Sharing a grand and romantic city..." another man stepped forward and stood next to her "Sea and salty air!".

Abastor's ears pricked at Anne's voice and I tightened my grip on him as she sang again "Train's gonna take us to the sunniest hideaway" the man spoke "Troubles will slide away" she joined him "Just a ride away". Abastor lifted his head, trying to get to Anne, it took all my strength to hold him still.

The chorus came and joined them singing the oddest music I'd ever heard, girls performed high kicks to this upbeat music and the crowd whistled at them. During this Anne's swing had been raised slightly so she could see out over the crowd, and for a moment her eyes caught his. For a brief moment she stared in surprise, but quickly regained herself and acted as though she'd never known him in her life.

Just as quickly as they'd come out, the gates opened and all the people crowded in. Once the crowd had dispersed into the place I dismounted, resting my hand on Abastor's neck and staring into Atlantic City. "Where have I been? How did we change? Caught in this strange, new music. Say, was I away too long?" I sang softly. Abastor nudged me and I sighed "Say, when did they change the song?".

My first mission was to find Anne, and the best way to do that would be to find one of her shows. Sure enough even though she'd JUST performed the opening ceremonies, now, less than an hour later, was her first act of the day.

At first I was confused, all I saw was two tall beams, with a wire strung between them. Suddenly Anne appeared and the crowd began to cheer. This time she was wearing a short ballet skirt and pointe shoes. And her hair was ties in a bun like it always was when she was a ballerina at the opera. In fact, she looked as though she were stepping onto the opera house stage right now.

Instead though, to my horror and dismay, she began climbing up one of the pillars. At the top she raised her arms and the crowd cheered loudly. Oh please, she wouldn't walk on that wire would she?

Suddenly music began to play, something the people said was called the 'Coney Island Waltz' and was her carry over song from when she performed there. She rose up on pointe and walked out onto the wire. I could hardly breath as I watched her begin to dance, spinning and leaping on the wire as though it were a regular stage.

As the routine began to come to the end, she suddenly lost her balance for a moment. My breath caught in my throat and I feared greatly, to have come this far only to have her die before me. She regained her balance and finished, the crowd screaming and calling her name as she got to the other beam and climbed down.

Quickly I grabbed Abastor and began to follow her, pushing and shoving my way through the crowds of people. Having Abastor actually helped, as people practically leapt out of the way in fear of being trampled by the grey stallion. Anne didn't seem to notice me, as she walked back towards her dressing room.

Once we got there, I tied Abastor outside and entered the building. Silently as I had when I was the Phantom, I followed her down the hall and watched as she entered her dressing room, closing the door behind her quietly. Taking a deep breath I stepped out and went to her dressing room door.

Standing before it, I grew fearful. What was I to tell her? What should I say or do? Does Anne even remember me? Her father? The reason she ran away to be a star in the first place? Shaking with anxious feelings, I lifted my fist to the door and knocked.

There was a silence behind the door before I heard shuffling "Coming sir!" she called. After a few moment the door swung open "Hel..." she trailed off as she gazed up at my face. There was a silence, a very very long silence. Up close, I looked my little girl over in amazement. She was wearing makeup, and her hair was all done like the big showgirls. Her costume had already been changed and she seemed in the midst of putting her shoes on, as she had one on and one off.

"Father" she finally said, almost coldly. I looked down at her, feeling tears prick my eyes. "Anne, you remember me?" I asked, trembling slightly at all the emotions raging through me. She rolled her eyes as if I asked a rather foolish question and ushered me into her dressing room, closing the door behind her.

She went over to her makeup chair and sat down, as though she were the queen and that was her throne "What do you want?" she asked me simply. Blue-green eyes, identical to mine, practically glared at me as I swallowed and began to speak "I came to bring you home" I replied unsteadily.

How she laughed at me! I could not believe what I was hearing "Bring me back? You wait FIVE YEARS and then decide you want me back? That's" she chuckled coldly "That's not how it works". Was she purposely being cold to me? Was she pretending not to care? Maybe, I decided, I should test her.

Searching my inner soul for the Phantom, I felt his rage build up inside of me "YOU KNOW WHAT? YOU UNGRATEFUL LITTLE BRAT? FINE! YOUR FAMILY HAS BEEN JUST AS HAPPY WITHOUT YOU!" I turned on my heels and began storming out of that dressing room, but not before glancing back to see Anne's face.

Her eyes were wide and she stared after me in shock, as though I'd struck her. Her perfectly painted face began to run as tears began to stream down her face, ruining her eye makeup. Just as I reached the door she leapt up and ran to me "Father no please! I'm sorry I didn't mean to!" she wailed, collapsing on the floor behind me and grabbing one of my coat tails "Please don't leave me father PLEASE" she sobbed.

I turned around and knelt down in front of her "Anne please, why did you leave France?" I asked her. She was hystarical now, and I had to pick her up and carry her over to the nearby couch, where I sat and cradled her in my arms. How old was she now? 13? I remember last time I was with her it was a lot easier to hold her in my arms, when had she grown so big?

She buried her face in my chest and choked on her tears as she tried to speak "Oh father, I didn't mean to! You, you never came to visit me anymore. I thought you didn't love me anymore, that you abandoned me. So I abandoned you back!" she cried. I hushed her "Anne, you'll come back with me now, and I promise things will change. I was wrong". She wimpered and I stroked her hair "Please don't leave me again Anne" I said, feeling myself choke up slightly.

Anne looked up at me, she seemed to break even more when she realized what she'd truely done. She wrapped her arms around her neck and held onto me like she'd never let me go "I'll never leave ever ever again father. I promise. But..." she looked away and I looked at her "But what?" I asked.

"I... I'm a star here. I've made a life for myself here, and" suddenly the dressing room door burst open "And she can't leave 'cause she belongs to me. Don't ya girl?" he asked. She looked up at him, quickly wiping her eyes and pretending as though she'd never been crying.

This man, I didn't know who he was, but immediately I didn't like him "What do you mean she belongs to you?" I demanded angrily as I stood up "She's MY daughter!". He gave me a smirk and I wanted to punch him and wipe it right off his face "She signed the contract Mr. Destler. Anne's mine".

I turned to her "Anne what contract? Please tell me you..." I trailed off as she bowed her head, nodding sadly. "Mr. Smith, father can stay can't he?" she asked, this man, Mr. Smith, gave me a quick look over before he laughed "You're father'll have to find a hotel to stay in girl, I ain't payin for him" he answered her.

He went over and ruffled her hair slightly "You're on in 15 minutes, clean yourself up and get ready alright? Remember the rehearsal tonight! We have to start work on that new number k girl?" he asked. Anne looked up at him confidently and nodded "I'll be ready" she assured him. With that he glared at me before leaving the dressing room, slamming the door behind him shut.

"Who is that man?" I demanded. She smiled "My producer, Mr. Smith" she replied plainly, as if she answered that question every day. I walked to her and took her hand "Anne, I'm your father, you can come with me" she stepped away "You know what father, no I can't. You know, I do love you, and I want to come home to mother and Daniel and everyone. But what have you done for me?" she asked.

What had I done for her? I'd created her hadn't I? Wasn't that enough for her? That I made her and raised her? She crossed her arms "You promised me things would be different. I'm perfectly happy here. Prove to me that you'll make things better!" she declared, she almost sounded like me, when I was the Phantom. Her eyes narrowed "I've practically replaced you anyway" she threatened.

I stood there, disbelievingly, and turned to leave, she caught my arm, wrapping her arms around my waist "Father I love you. But you need to prove you love me too. There are people here who care about me too. Do you love me more than them? As my father?" I asked.

Of course I did! But how was I to prove it, all I could do was nod "Anne I promise" she stopped me "No, don't make me empty promises, just do the right thing". With that, she sent me on my way, closing the dressing room door behind me so she could prepare for her show.

Walking outside, Abastor pricked his ears and I mounted him, patting his neck "I have to think of a plan now Abastor, but first, let's find a place to stay". Turning him around, we headed out into Atlantic City in search of a hotel. There was no way I was ever leaving this place without my daughter, I'd make sure she was with me soon!


	5. The Diva Returns

**Hey Everybody! So in case you haven't read my other story 'The Adventures of Erik and Erik Jr.', my town was 8 feet underwater during Hurricane Irene. What does this mean? Well I have no power, therefore, no internet. So updates are gonna be hard to bring up. But I'm going to try. After all, I can still type on my laptop!**

**Sandal Walker: THANKS! Yea, I'm starting to like this version a bit better too. And yes, Erik is working on saving Anne. But there really isn't much for him to do right now. Anne has gotten a little backbone hasn't she to say such things to Erik? Thanks for the positive reviews! Hope you enjoy the next chapter. **

**Thanks for Reading everybody and PLEASE REVIEW!**

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><p><strong>Gabriella POV<strong>

Life without Erik feels lonely somehow. Waking up without him beside me is such a strange feeling, and yet I have to wonder why. After all, I was without Erik for over 20 years, so I should be able to be without him for a little while right?

I worry about him and Abastor every day, but I push on because I know soon they'll all return. My beautiful daughter, my noble stallion, and the greatest husband anyone could ever ask for. But how long must I wait?

Today Christine, Meg, and Lizzy have decided to take me out for lunch. At first I declined, but Daniel assured me he could care for the farm, and Kirsten said she wanted to go play with Gustave. So since it was my day off, much to their delight, I accepted.

Changing into one of my better dresses and get ready, I sigh as I look into the mirror. I can almost picture Erik pacing our bedroom floor behind me, buttoning up his waistcoat and remembering everything that needed to be done that day. When he finishes he comes and kisses me goodbye before heading out for the day. I really miss him.

"Mama! Auntie Christine, Auntie Lizzy, and Auntie Meg are here!" Kirsten calls. I step out of my bedroom and see her at the top of the stairs, her hair is messily piled onto her hair and her hair ribbon is practically falling out of her hair. I chuckle and call for Daniel to answer the door as I fix her hair.

Kirsten pouts as I undo all her hard work "Mama I did it all by myself! Why are you messing it up?" she whines as I pick up a hairbrush and begin running it through her brown curls "I'm very proud that you did it all by yourself. But don't you want to look your very best for the little viscount?" I asked her. She crossed her arms and gave a little sigh, showing I had won.

Christine, Meg, and Lizzy all entered the foyer of my house as I finished tying Kirsten's hair. She ran down the stairs and I followed more slowly behind her. They all smiled "Gabriella you take FOREVER" Meg teased as Kirsten went over to Christine.

Smiling, Christine looked down at Kirsten "Gustave is very excited to play today. He's out in the carriage waiting. Go ahead" she told her. Eagerly, Kirsten ran out the door, but skidded to a halt, running back and giving me a hug "Bye Mama!" she called as she raced out the door.

Once she was gone Lizzy smiled "She reminds me of someone. You better keep your eye out on her" she said. I looked over into her playful blue eyes, they hadn't lost that childish spark much at all since when we were in the opera house as ballerinas. "Who?" I asked her, to this she laughed "ME!" she replied.

We all headed outside, Christine had another carriage outside waiting for us, as the one carrying Gustave and Kirsten had already left. We all piled in, me and Lizzy sitting on one side, Meg and Christine on the other. They smiled and I couldn't help but giggle "Where are we going?" I ask.

Meg laughs "It's a surprise!" she tells me "A surprise?" I ask. Lizzy rolls her eyes "It's no surprise. We're just going to a cafe!" she says. Christine and Meg gasp "You're no fun Lizzy! Ever since you married Billy boy!" Christine said.

Lizzy frowned "Billy has nothing to do with me telling her! Maybe I'm just trying to be a good friend!" she told them defensively. I smiled "Well it doesn't matter where we go or whether I know or not. I'm just glad to be getting out!" I tell them.

Once we arrive at the cafe, we managed to get a table. We place our orders and begin to chat casually. I haven't felt so relaxed in a long time, even before Erik left. Being the ballet mistress, dealing with a child, and a horse farm, could cause a bit of stress once in a while. But right now, everything was great.

Suddenly though, our discussion was interrupted by a screech and a redheaded woman, who looked a rather aged, stormed into the cafe and sat at the bar "I saida I wanta ma winea now!" she hollared. The bartender quickly began getting her drink and once he'd handed it to her he ran into the kitchen and didn't come out again.

Something about this woman was familar, actually a lot of things. The red hair, the accent, the additude. Lizzy leaned over and whispered in my ear "Is that La Carlotta?". Meg leaned across the table, so did Christine "That's her!" Meg whispered urgently "That's Carlotta!".

"What's she doing here?" I ask, trying to keep my voice down. Meg glanced over at her "She's a dress designer, a rather big one acrually. Must be here on business" she said. Christine's voice raised "But I thought..." suddenly the lady turned around and glared at us.

We had a stare down for a moment, her stare was full of agitation, ours full of fear. Suddenly her gaze softened slightly, and turned into a look of surprise. She stood up and walked over to our table "Wella if it isn't the little prima ballerina and the little prima donna. Anda whata we have here? Two chorus girls?" she questioned. We all looked at each other before I cleared my throat.

"Actually, Carlotta, um, I'm the ballet mistress now" Lizzy spoke up "And I'm just a housewife!". Christine met Carlotta's gaze "I'm the Prima Donna as you said" she told her, waiting for the former diva to say something cold and insulting. Meg blushed before Carlotta could say a word "I... I don't have a job" she admitted.

Carlotta looked Meg over for a long time "Do youa know howa to sew?" she asked. Meg nodded slowly "Yes, I'm pretty good at sewing" she replied. Carlotta pulled up a chair and sat down "Wella you area in lucka! You seea Ia needa newa seamstress fora ma designs" she informed her "Do youa wanta the job?".

Meg narrowed her eyes "Why would you give me a job? You hated me" she asked coldly. Carlotta took a sip of her wine before looking Meg straight in the eye "Ia no hatea you. Ia justa didn't wanta to losea ma job over your littlea friend" she admitted. Meg thought for a long moment before nodding "I'll take the job" she replied.

The former diva stood up and clasps her hands together "Gooda! Nowa you willa starta nexta week. I willa seea you there!" she called before turning and disappearing out the cafe door. We all sat in silence for a long time before Lizzy laughed "Well I didn't expect that!" she said cheerily.

Christine chuckled "Who would have thought. I wish you luck at your new job Meg" she said. Meg merely shrugged "Well since she's so famous and has so much I'm sure she pays good. That's all that counts, a job's a job right?" she asked.

I nodded "I wonder what crazy designs she came up with that she's so famous" I ask, they all shrug "Well I'm sure they're not that special" Lizzy says before finishing her drink. We pay for everything before piling into the cab and returning back to the farm.

I step out "Thank you so much! I had a wonderful time!" I tell them. They all smile and nod "We need to go out more often!" Meg says, Lizzy nods in agreement "Yes, and soon! We haven't been together in so long!" she says. I nod "Come visit whenever you like!" I tell her. With that they bid their goodbyes before disappearing.

As I make my way into the house, I suddenly hear something crash in Erik's office. Curious, I open the door to see Daniel sitting the piano, smashing his hands against the keys. I rush in and grab his wrists to stop him "What are you doing?" I demand.

He looks down "I'm sorry mother, I was trying to play, but I can't think of anything" he admits. His temper flares just like his father and I have to chuckle at him "Why don't you go riding for a little while. Maybe the fresh air will give you inspiration?" I ask, ruffling his hair.

Thinking for a moment, he finally stands "I suppose you're right. I'll be back soon mother" he says before walking out of the office and out the front door. I'm about to leave when suddenly something on Erik's desk catches my eye. Curious as to what it is, I approach his desk and pick it up.

It's sheetmusic of some kind, I don't know that much about it, but there's words scrolled on the top 'Lullaby of Bells' it says. Is that the title? I take it and put it on the piano, beginning to plunk out each note one by one.

Eventually I find myself sitting on the bench, fully focused on trying to play all the notes together, make it so it flows. Erik made playing this piano seem so easy, and yet I could hardly play it at all. Finally I stand and go back to my bedroom.

Once there I change into a more plain dress and go downstairs to cook dinner. As I finish Daniel returns. I place his dinner on the table and he immediately sits down and begins to eat as though I've starved him "Slow down Daniel, you'll choke" I warn him. He slows down slightly but continues eating.

I sit down and begin to eat quietly. My thought fall back to Erik, Anne, and Abastor. Where are they right now? Are they safe? Suddenly the front door opens and Kirsten races up the stairs, I glance at Daniel before going up and calling her "Kirsten?", no answer.

Suddenly I hear a voice "Madame?", it's Raoul.

I turn to find him standing in my foyer, he dips his head to me respectfully "I'm sorry Madame. But I'm afraid one of your ponies might be in serious trouble" he tells me. I look at him "What pony?" I ask, he leads me outside and points out to the pasture, where a little black and white spot is lying on the ground. I recognize it at once "It's Firefly, Kirsten's pony" I tell him.

We go outside, as we go past the carriage Christine jumps out, "Raoul wait for me!" she calls. Once we get to the pasture fence she finally catches up. Kirsten's pony, Firefly, is lying on the ground not far from where we stand. His breathing labored and occationally he coughs violently.

For some time now I've known Firefly was sick. He was an extremely old black and white shetland pony, who started his life working as a mining pony in England. But when the vet examined him and proclaimed the coal dust was affecting his lungs, he was put up for sale, where he was purchased by the Opera Company.

For many many years the little pony was used in various opera and for various things. I remember when I first arrived at the opera one of the first activities I took part in with the group was taking turns riding him around the stage and dressing him up in old costume pieces. Everyone used to call him a cow because of his black and white patched coat.

After the fire, the company decided to retire most of the old horses, and bring in new horses that didn't know of the fire that had taken place there. They felt the old horses would be afraid because of the fire, and besides, they were too old to work anymore anyway.

Not wanted little Firefly to be sent away, I bought him myself, and kept him as a stablepony. When Kirsten was born, he was the first horse I placed her on. And she's never ridden another pony since. But lately, Firefly's age was beginning to show, and his bad lungs had been causing him to cough during his rides with Kirsten.

Now, it appeared it was finally his time to go. We all stood there trying to decide what to do, I turned to Raoul "Do you know how to shoot a gun?" I asked him. He looked at me, before nodded "y... Yes" he replied. I went to the house and into Erik's office, pulling the shotgun he had hidden in the back corner behind one of his cabinets. Bringing it out, I handed it to Raoul.

He stared at the gun almost in a daze "Put him out of his misery. I don't want him to suffer like this" I told him. He raised the gun and looked at the pony, his finger finding the trigger. Me and Christine waited for the longest time for the shot, but it never came. I look up to see tears streaming down Raoul's face.

"I... I can't do it" he finally said in defeat, putting the gun down. Christine went to him "Raoul darling, what's wrong?" she asked. He choked on a sob "I can't do this, because I used to have a pony. When I was a boy" Christine rubbing his back as he swallowed his tears.

After a moment he continued "I loved that pony, loved him more than anything. He was my very best friend. We did everything together, went exploring all over the estate. But one day he was running in his pasture and he stepped in a rabbit hole and broke his leg. My parents didn't want him to suffer, so they shot him. Shot him right in front of me" more tears streamed down his face "I didn't even get to say goodbye".

There was a long silence before he looked up "I was so upset they sent me with my aunt to the seaside for a few days, to see if that would cheer me up. That's when I met Christine and saved her scarf" he admitted.

Suddenly we realize that Firefly has stopped coughing and weezing, almost afraid to see, I look up. The three of us wait for the pony to make move, just the slightest rise and fall of his chest. But there is none, and we realize that he was gone.

"Mama?", it was Kirsten. She came out of the house and stood before us, taking in the scene before her. Her eyes stared at the gun, and then at Firefly, she stepped back "You... you... NOOOOOOOOO!" she wailed before turning and racing into the house.

Raoul bowed his head and handed me the gun back "I'm so, so sorry" he says quietly. Christine nods "I'm sorry as well, I loved little Firefly. Poor Kirsten" she tells me sympathetically. We walk slowly back towards the house, Raoul says he'll arrange for someone to help me bury the pony. I thank him before saying goodbye and heading into the house.

It's almost eerily quiet as I put the gun away and head up to Kirsten's room. She's lying in her bed, curled up sobbing. When she sees me she wails harder and I enter the room, sitting at the end of her bed and rubbing her back, hushing her.

She blinks back tears "Mama I want Daddy!" she begins to cry. I hush her "He's going to come home soon I promise!" I tell her. She shakes her head "No! I want him now! Please get him to come home!" she begins to sob.

Seeing her cry for her father breaks my heart, "If I could get him to come home right this instant I would but we have to be patient alright?" I ask. She shakes her head "I want Firefly" she cries "Why did you kill him? Why?" she asks. I shake my head "We didn't kill Firefly Kirsten, we didn't want him to suffer, but he was gone before we could do anything" I tell her.

Kirsten looks at me "Why did he die Mama? What did Firefly do wrong?" she asked. I swallowed "Firefly was a very old horse my dear, and it was his time to go. He's in a much better place now" I tell her.

She sniffled "Is there lots of grass there?" she asks me innocently, I nod "The finest most beautiful grass ever, as far as the eye can see and beyond" I reply. She crawls into my lap and sniffles "Good, he liked grass. Will there be lots of other ponies there too?" she asks.

I nod once again "Lots of ponies, just like him" I reply. She looks up at me, her eyes red from crying "Will Firefly get to stay there forever?" she asks. "He'll get to stay there forever and ever" I tell her. She puts her head down and begins to fall asleep "Good, I think he'll like it there".

The innocence in her voice is enough to practically bring me to tears. What started out as a happy occation, turned into one of the worst days of my life. But as I tucked Kirsten into bed, I felt slightly proud of myself. I'd managed to handle a disaster without Erik being here. But I agreed with Kirsten's pleas full heartedly, I wanted Erik to come home, and I wanted him to come home now.

I crawl into bed alone once again. For now everything is calm, but it could all change so fast. Today showed me that for sure. What if something worse goes wrong while Erik isn't here? What if something happens that I can't handle by myself? I worry greatly now, I need Erik here, to help me. There's so much for me to take care of all by myself.

All I can do it hope that he's found Anne by now, and that they're on their way back. What could Anne have done over in America anyway? She was probably eager to come right home after she made up with her father. Wasn't she?


	6. Just Friends

**Erik POV**

It didn't take too horribly long to find a hotel to stay in. Money was no object, I had all my Opera Ghost funds with me. That was enough to keep me here for years if need be, but I wouldn't be here that long. No, a few weeks tops!

My only problem was Abastor, I had nowhere to keep him. I searched everywhere but there was not one stable around. Eventually I ended up back at Anne's dressing room, searching for her. Suddenly I remembered she had a rehearsal, maybe that was where she was! As I turned to leave I suddenly ran into someone.

I stared back into my own eyes as Anne looked up at me "Father? What are you doing here?" she asked, confused. I smiled slightly "Anne, I was just looking for you. I need your help" I told her. She walked to her vanity and began taking her earings out "Ah, my help? Well what help are you looking for?" she asked me.

"Abastor has nowhere to stay" I told her. She ran a brush through her hair "Oh, well that's easy" she said. She stood and walked out of her dressing room, I followed not far behind. Casually she went down the hallway and knocked on someone's door "Hey, Eddy!" she called. Suddenly an older man poked his head out the door "Oh Anne, what a surprise" he opened the door wider "Come on in! Who's your friend?" he asked cheerfully.

She smiled brightly, and though it seemed fake to most, something she was forced to wear everyday of every week, but I knew it was genuine, the same smile she always gave everyone she met back in paris. "Eddy do you have any extra stalls in the show barn?", he smiled and laughed "Of course. What is it though? That ol' producer of yours wants you to do ballet on horseback does he?" he asked.

"Oh no, it's my father's horse. Eddy, I'd like you to meet my father Mr. Destler" she introduced. The man came and shook my hand, not even glancing at my mask "Ah! I finally get to meet him! You're quite famous 'round here!" he tells me. Anne blushes "Yes, he finally came. And he brought his horse over from Paris with him, but can't find a place to keep him".

The man, Eddy, nods "Of course Anne, keep your horse in the stables as long as you like! Always welcome!" he told her. She turns to leave, and I stay close behind her "Thanks Eddy, I must go now though, have a rehearsal I'll be late for" she said. He waved to us as we exited his dressing room "So long!" he called.

As we made our way outside to get Abastor she looked up at me "He's in charge of the stables where they keep the diving horses" she told me. I raised an eyebrow "Diving horses?" I asked her. Anne giggled "Oh yes father, I'll show you them. They're one of my favorite things in Altantic City!" she explains "The horses gallop to the top of a high tower, where a girl jumps on their backs and they jump off the tower into a pool of water".

This diving horses sounded dangerous, I was grateful my daughter wasn't involved. Of course, dancing on a wire a hundred feet in the air wasn't much better, I was going to need to talk to this producer of hers. After retrieving Abastor, she lead us about a block away to a stables. There were some beautiful animals in there, not just horses, but elephants too.

Abastor tossed his head and stared at the big animals in curiousity, whinnying to them. One paticular elephant caught his interest and he stopped dead in his tracks, sniffing the trunk that came at him hesitently. Anne went over and pet the truck "Oh Abastor, it's just Mickey" she told him. Mickey the elephant began poking her person and she laughed "Hey! That tickles! I'm sorry Mickey, I have no treats for you!" she told him.

At this Mickey the elephant withdrew his trunk and she pretended to be sad "Aw Mickey, I didn't mean it. I promise I'll bring you a bag of peanuts tomorrow" she told him. She took Abastor's reins and lead him to an empty stall across from the elephant "There you go Abastor" she said, patting the grey stallions neck.

Once we were out of the stables she broke into a run to her dressing room "I gotta get to rehearsal" she said, it was already dark out as she made the quickest change I'd ever seen. She ran into her dressing room, and before I could even reach the door she was running out again, pushing past me and out towards the theatre.

Slowly, I began to follow her. I was in no rush, and bothering her during a rehearsal seemed inappropriate right now, especially on the terms we were on. As I made my way towards where she'd disappeared to, I had to admire the atmosphere of this place, admire, but also hate. This place was alive, people everywhere, much like Coney Island.

But somehow, it felt there was more theatre here, more talent. It wasn't just where the circus was running all summer. Here there was singing, dancing, but most of this singing and dancing was vaudville. Girls picking up their skirts and kicking their legs. What a waste, that's all I could think, these girls could be excellent ballet dancers I was sure.

Finally I reached the theatre, finding it unlocked. I stepped inside, silent as a shadow. Glancing to the stage, I could see Anne and a group of older people on the stage. Suddenly a voice called out, from one of the boxes "Alright! Everybody from the top!" he called.

The piano started up and everyone got into positions, Anne disappearing off the stage as the men began to sing. This group must be her chorus, well that explained a bit. I headed up to the boxes, quickly finding the one Anne's producer was standing in, I walked up to him.

He looked surprised at first, before smirking at me "Why hello Mr. Destler, decide to stop in and watch your daughter perform for once?" he asked mockingly. My eyes darkened "Monsieur I suggest you save the sarcastic tone for someone who isn't a wanted man" I snarled. He looked genuinely afraid "Anne never told me you were a wanted man" he swallowed.

I put my hands on the banister, looking out over the stage. Anne was dancing now, her chorus gathered around her counting and reminding her the steps. I cleared my throat "I don't like what you've done ot my daughter. She's just a child!" I said, Mr. Smith sat down in one of the seats and sighed "She came to me to be a showgirl! I've never trained a child before in my life!" he told me. I turned and looked at him, he appeared to be telling the truth, but how could I know?

Mr. Smith pulled out a cigar, lighting it and putting it in his mouth "Listen, either state your business or get out" he said coldly. I went and sat next to him "You say my daughter belongs to you?" I asked, he let out a puff of smoke "She does, she signed the contract. But even if she didn't, she's a loyal little girl. She'd do anything I asked of her".

This was music to my ear, now was my chance "How much are you willing to stake that she'd do whatever you wanted? Would you stake her contract maybe?" I asked. He laughed "Of course I would! There isn't nothing she wouldn't do for me!". My eyes narrowed "Well then how about a bet of sorts? I happen to be a composer. If Anne sings the song I write for her at the end of the month, she comes back to France with me. If she sings this new number your rehearsing, she stays with you and I go to France alone".

His eyes lit up "Ah, I like the way you think Mr. Destler. I love a good bet. Alright then, at the end of the month she sings my song, she's mine. She sings your song, she's yours". I nod and hold out my hand "It is a bet then?" he shakes my hand eagerly "It's a bet then".

Suddenly Anne noticed me on the box "Mr. Smith!" she called. At her voice the man stood and looked down onto the stage "Yes girl?" he called. She was standing at the edge of the stage now, looking up at us "Can you please give my father a backstage pass? I don't want him to get in trouble" she says. For the first time that I could see Mr. Smith smiled, almost fondly at her "Of course girl, anythin ya ask. Now, back to positions. From the top again! I want a clean run!".

As they got back to rehearsal he shoved a card at me "This is a backstage pass. If anyone questions you just show em this and you'll be left alone. This'll get you into not only Anne's shows but any other shows she might want to take you to" he instructs me. With that his eyes narrowed "Now get out of my box".

I turned and left him, and the rehearsal continued. Not wanting to leave just yet, I hid towards the back of the theatre, watching my daughter's rehearsal. Finally Mr. Smith called out "Alright! That's enough today! See you all Monday!", the people on stage, including Anne. All said goodbye to each other as they gathered their things, heading out the door.

Quickly I headed out the door, but Anne must have spotted me, because she called out for me and ran up behind me "Father!" she said, catching up to me "What are you still doing here?" she asked. I sighed "You were upset that I never watched you. So I stayed for the whole performance. Anne I" she held up her hand, cutting me off "That's very sweet of you father. But it's a little late for that now" she told me.

What did she want from me? She said she wanted me to prove that I still cared for her, yet the only way I knew how to prove that was to fix what I'd done wrong before. She must have read my mind, because she smiled "Father, I know you're trying. But how about we just start over by being friends ok?" she asked. I smiled "Alright, we can be friends" I told her, whatever game she wanted to play, I was willing to play it.

She sighed "I have the day off tomorrow you know, since it's sunday. Would you like me to show you around? There's so much I wanna show you father! And you can meet some of my friends and everything!" her voice grew more excited as she spoke. To decline would break her heart, I would have to endure the crowds for the sake of her happiness, our relationship, and the bet I've now made.

I smiled "I would love to" I replied. She bounced "Oh goodie! I'll show you the diving horses! And I can show you how I can dance on a wire! And you can meet the greatest magician ever!" that peaked my interest. "Magician?" I asked, she nodded "Yes! The man who I was singing with at opening ceremonies! His name's Harry Houdini! He's an escape artist and a magician. He can do anything!" she spoke of him fondly, I wondered if she ever spoke of me in such a way.

"Well I'd very much like to meet this Houdini" she laughed "I bet you would" she replied. Suddenly we were at my hotel and she hugged me "Meet me at my dressing room tomorrow. Good Night father". I said good night and kissed the top of her head before releasing her.

Before disappearing into the night she turned and looked at me for a moment, not even a second. But the look she gave me, had such a mix of emotions. Like she was asking me not to take her away, yet at the same time, she didn't want to be away from her family and friends anymore. Before I could say anything she was gone.

I went up into my hotel room, sitting at the end of my bed and sighing. What was I to do? Anne seemed to like it here in America so much, but I wanted her back. And she didn't want me to leave did she? I wasn't sure of what she wanted at all. But I am her father, and tomorrow I will prove my love and devotion to her.


	7. Bucephalus

**HEYYYY! Sorry I didn't do the review thing last chapter, when I posted it I was kinda busy so I didn't write the thingy like I shoulda. I'm gonna make this brief though cause I kinda don't have much time right this second either. **

**Sandal Walker: Yea, I'm kinda sad about the lack of reviews, but your reviews alone are all I need really. A few more would be nice since there were so many followers of the original (And surprisingly enough people keep adding it to their favorite's list every so often even now!). Yea, I'm incorperating quite a bit from Love Never Dies, but DO NOT FEAR, nobody is going to die... well, no good can come from a bet like that of course but nobody's dying in this story right now! Thanks for the Reviews, and P.S., LOVING your sequel if I haven't already made that clear ;)**

**TO EVERYONE ELSE! What are you doing that you can't leave me a nice review or something? I mean come on, I worked hard on this chapter, and I'm working hard on the story in general! So a few more reviews REALLY wouldn't hurt you any I bet! **

**Thanks for reading anyway, next chapter we return to Erik and Anne, which I'm excited for. I like writing them a bit more than I like writing Gabriella's bits. But you can expect more of Kirsten and Daniel in that regards. You'll see why after this chapter. **

**PLEASE REVIEW! And Thanks for reading, again, here's the next chapter!**

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><p><strong>Gabriella POV<strong>

I'm being haunted, by things that never used to bother me when Erik was here. I'd always had worries ever since moving back home to the farm, but Erik had always been here to calm me down before it turned to anything. But Erik isn't here, and my fear of fire taking everything away once again is worrying me greatly.

At first it was nothing, at night when it was dark and everyone had gone to bed, my mind would begin whirling of memories of the house catching fire in the middle of the night. But my fear as grown, until tonight, I can't stay in the house another moment.

Losing sleep over something as silly as a childhood fear frustrates me, but honestly, I don't think I've ever been so afraid in my life. Slipping on my cloak, I head out to the stables, to the stallion barn. There is no moon tonight as I kneel before Cesar's grave. It's so dark I can't even make out the words on the stone in front of me, but I've memorized what it says. Sometimes I think it's too much for the poor black stallion, sometimes I think it's too little.

Cesar, when he was by my side I was afraid of nothing. He and I would explore the forest together, we survived the fire together, and we ran away from he auction and from home, together. And, we'd gone to the opera together, if it weren't for him me and Erik would have never married. He brought us together, but were Erik's fears of him tearing us apart true?

Since Cesar's death, since returning home, nothing seems as it should be! I want things to go back to the way they were before! When we lived under the opera, and I didn't know of Abastor's presence. Back then there'd only been Cesar, now there are so many horses it's hard to keep track of them. How many are born and sold in a season, how many mares, how many foals, how many horses we have simply as pets.

The only thing that never changes is the stallions, and that is because me and Erik refuse to change them. Their blood is the bloodline we plan to keep forever. When one of them is too old to continue their work, another one of their sons shall continue. So far it hasn't come to that, and for it I'm grateful, I'm just getting used to the stallions we have now.

Last time there were stallions in that barn, they were mighty, they were proud, I remember them clear as day. Cesar's father was one of those stallions, big and black. There are no black stallions now, I refused to have any. None shall ever replace Cesar, not one! All black colts born are sold as soon as possible, I don't even have a heart to name them.

What was I doing? I had no time to dwell on this right now! Sighing, I turn and head back into the house, walking into Erik's office and sitting down at his desk to go over papers. As I flip though the papers, I come across a flyer for a new horse sport, jumping.

Now jumping horses wasn't exactly new, when I was young I remember talk of Lepping competitions across the countryside. But these were very unpopular because nobody could follow the race. So, they hold it in an arena now, calling it 'show jumping'. What purpose did it serve though? Teachign horses to jump high fences seemed silly, like you were teaching them to jump out of their enclosures.

Not only that, but it was dangerous. I've heard of riders get injured by falling off their horses while jumping over obstacles. Me and Cesar rarely jumped anything, and nothing ever happened to us. Useless was this sheet, if they thought I'd risk my neck, or my horse's welfare, for silly competition.

The only thing that stopped me from crumpling the paper and going into the other room to toss it in the garbage was when I saw the prize money. My eyes widened in shock, they're giving that much away? I still wouldn't be swayed though, as I got ready to toss the paper Kirsten appeared in the doorway "Mama? What's for breakfast?" she asked. I put the paper on the desk and went to her, I'd deal with it later.

"Um, how about pancakes?" I asked her, had I really stayed up all night? She nodded "I'd like some pancakes Mama" she replies innocently. I take her hand and we walk into the kitchen together. She sits at the table while I begin cooking. Daniel comes in, for a moment, drinking a glass of orange juice quickly before running back out of the room "Mother I'm going to feed the horses!" he calls.

I place Kirsten's breakfast down in front of her and she eats absurdly fast, washing it down with her own glass of orange juice, she hops off her chair and runs after Daniel "Wait for me!" she calls. I watch them as they run out to the barn together. I remember when I used to be that young, running out to the barn after my father in the morning to see the horses.

Why did I keep looking back? I shook my head and cleaned up after my daughter, eating a small breakfast by myself before going upstairs to my bedroom to dress for the day. With no makeup on, I can see the faded scar over my left eye, from when the opera house had burned to the ground and an ember had hit me.

I chuckle, another memory! Well they're fine to be with for now I suppose. After all, memories kept away the reality that Erik wasn't here with me. Pulling on a dark blue gown, I head outside to the stables to saddle my horse. Once he's tacked, I mount and begin heading to the opera, leaving Daniel and Kirsten to take care of things.

Daniel is thirteen, practically a man, I trust him to keep things in order. And so far he has done such a good job, I can't help but be proud. Not only that, he and Kirsten get along so well, I've never come home to any fights or problems. It eases the stress of my day, until I get to the opera that is. But I can't do much about that.

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><p><strong>Kirsten POV<strong>

Today is a special day. At least I think it is, Daniel says it is. Ever since Firefly went to heaven, I've been having to ride Daniel's pony, Blaze. But today, Daniel said I can pick out my own horse out of all the colts and fillies, and we're going to train it together so it can be mine.

That's why I was so excited to get out there. Daniel did say after he fed the horses we'd pick, but I wanted to go with him to feed them so I could see them all. My big brother doesn't mind my company, as long as I'm quiet and don't make a mess of anything. I try really hard not to, but sometimes it's hard.

He goes to every single barn, and I even help him a little bit. Giving some grain to some of the mares and foals. The last barn we get to is the yearling barn, but we don't have to feed them because there's lots of food outside in the pasture for them to eat. So we simply walk out to the pasture where the horses ready for training are all kept.

There are so many horses, white ones, grey ones, brown ones, and even a few black ones. I don't understand how we get black horses, because none of the horses we have are black. Abastor is grey and Noche Oscura is pure white even though apparently his name means 'dark night' in spanish, which is where he's from, Spain. Anmutigen Glanz is big and brown, with a white star and snip, and he's from Germany, where his name means 'Graceful Glory' but I don't understand that at all because he's the biggest stallion we own, so how can he be graceful? Our final stallion is Lux Aurumque, and he's gold with a white mane and tail. His name means 'The light and gold' in Latin, I think my papa picked that name out.

So how do you get black out of all those colors? The only other black horse we have is Feu Sombre, Papa's horse, and she has a terrible temper. I don't know why any stallion would want that nasty old mare, though she's nice enough to me, she snaps at Mama sometimes.

Me and Daniel lean on the fence, watching the horses gallop around. "How do I pick?" I ask, he shrugs "I don't know, just..." he hands me a halter and lead rope "Just go catch the one you want and bring it into the stables" he tells me. That seems simple enough, all these horses were taught to walk on a lead, I just had to walk up and get one.

Stepping into the pasture, I walk up to the group of horses. They all press their noses against me, some of them trot away in the other direction, not wanting to me caught. Any of these horses could be good, but which one did I want? Suddenly my eye catches on one of the black ones, a black colt with a star on his forehead.

He reminds me of a horse from a story my mother used to tell me, Bucephalus, the mighty black stallion of Alexander the Great. I walk over towards the horse, he turns, wow he's a lot bigger than most of the others. I realize that as he snorts and turns in my direction, like he's examining me.

Yes, this horse reminds me exactly of the horse from that story, smoke coming out of his nose as he breathed the cool morning air, fire in his eyes. He looked unbroken, like a wild horse. This was the horse I wanted, for sure! I began walking towards him, he began pawing the ground. So do I just slip on his halter?

"WAIT! Not that one Kirsten!" Daniel calls out from the fence "He's wild, Mama's gonna sell him!". I'm not listening, how did it go in the story? Well, was I supposed to jump on his back? He was very tall, it would take me a running start. And how would I steer him?

Quickly fiddling with the halter, I didn't care what Daniel had to say, I was going to break the story horse like he was broken in the story, and that was to jump on him. I tied the halter so it was more like a bridle, my horse, Bucephalus, seemed to be examining me, watching my every move.

As fast as I could, so fast I barely remember doing it, I had the halter on his head. As I clipped it secure he threw his head high out of my grasp, but in doing so he pulled me off the ground since I was still holding on his halter. Thinking fast, I grabbed onto his mane, swinging myself onto his back. This surprised him, and he reared up, taking off across the field like a lightning bolt.

Holding onto my makeshift reins, I simply held on to his mane with all my strength. The fence would cut him off, he's have to turn, but no! He was over that fence in one bounding leap! I heard Daniel call out for me to stop, but there was no way we were stopping now! We were gone!

Where we were going I had no idea, but Bucephalus bolted into the forest. I became afraid, the ground was uneven here, and we were going so fast! But he pressed on, and I only pulled back slightly to stop him. Finally we did stop though, I don't know how long we'd been running, but we came to a clearing and he simply slowed down and stopped, lowering his head to eat the grass.

I patted his neck, whispering words of kindness to him. He simply flickered his ears, did I dare get off? What if he ran away without me? Where were we? Jumping on this horse was a stupid idea, I should have listened to Daniel when he said to just bring it in the barn, now where was I supposed to go?

Tears began to stream down my face and I cried, I wanted Mama, I wanted Papa, I wanted Daniel, or somebody. I slipped off Bucephalus's back without thinking and sat down in the grass, sobbing quietly as I tore it. My black colt didn't run off like I thought he would, in fact, he did something no horse has ever done before.

He walked up behind me, snuffling my hair and then my shoulder. I giggled as his breath tickled my face and I turned to look at him. He nudged my arm and I stood up, once I was on my feet her pressed his nose into my chest and I hugged his mighty head, pressing my forehead against his horsey one.

For a moment it was alright that I was lost, maybe Bucephalus knew the way back and was telling me it was ok. But could a horse tell me that? Mama used to tell me about her horse, Cesar, that she had a special bond like that with. Me and Bucephalus had one too, I could feel it.

I grabbed Bucephalus's bridle and lead him to a nearby stump, using it to help me jump back on his back "Which way to home?" I asked. He turned around and began heading back, and suddenly I recognized the trail we were on. Once I did I took control of my horse, using the reins to guide him along.

At first he didn't seem to understand, but soon he caught on to the concept. Right rein being pulled means go right, left rein being pulled means go left, both reins pulled means stop, and kicking him gently meant go fast. Finally the familiar sight of the barn came into view and I kicked Bucephalus forward, urging him to gallop.

But when he caught sight of the fence, he changed coarse, heading back towards the other horses, just as fast as he left them. In a single bound, we were once again soaring over the pasture fence. Daniel must have heard us because he came galloping towards the pasture on Blaze.

"Kirsten what the hell! Mother will be home soon! What have you done?" he asked. I slipped off Bucephalus's back, untying his lead rope so I could lead him properly. I took him out and lead him towards the barns "I've made my pick Daniel. I want Bucephalus!".

He shakes his head "Kirsten you know how mother feels about black horses" he says "Besides, this one's wild! He can jump out of the pasture!". I shake my head "No Daniel, I want this one!". We stand there, before Daniel finally sighs "Put him in the training barn for now, we can't let mother see he's the one you picked".

I do just as he asks, putting Bucephalus into his stall in the training barn and giving him some food. "You're my horse right?" I ask. He lifts his head and pricks his ears at me, but flattens them when Daniel comes in the barn "Come on, we better go change so Mother doesn't suspect.

Kissing Bucephalus's nose, I say my final goodbyes before me and Daniel run back to the house. On our way up the stairs I notice Papa's office door is open. Curious, I go inside, going to the desk and looking at all the papers. There's one on the top of the pile that catches my attention, a flyer of some kind.

A jumping competition? Look at all the money we'd get if we won! I fold it up and stuff it in my dress pocket before running upstairs to change and tell Daniel what I've found. We were usually bored when Mama wasn't home, but now I've found something for us to do. We're going to train for thsi competition, and we're going to win!


	8. Atlantic City

**Erik POV**

I hardly slept last night, how could I? What did Anne have in store for us today? I adjusted my cravat and look a deep breath, straightening my mask. I'd put on the best suit that I had, only the best for my daughter. But we were going out on Sunday together, so I needed to be not only dressed to the nines, but on my very best behavior as well.

Shoving my pocket watch in my jacket pocket, I left my hotel room and made my way towards Anne's dressing room. Approaching the door, I had to take yet another deep, calming breath before knocking. I was left waiting for a moment, which seemed like an eternity, but finally my patience was rewarded when Anne opened the door, greeting me with a smile that could have broken hearts.

"Good morning father" she said cheerily. I looked down at her dress, and I'll admit that I was rather shocked. She was dressed so, so maturely! If I'd seen her walking down the street I'd have throught she was an 18 year old lady of high class. Her dress was very light blue, almost white, and to my astonished eyes, it touched the floor!

After seeing her in shirts that barely covered, seeing the hem of her dress touch the floor filled me with great relief. She laughed at me, adjusting her gloves and picking up a white parisol that wsa leaning against the wall by the door "What's the matter father? Is seeing me all grown up too much for you to handle?" she asked teasingly.

I smiled slightly as she took my arm "Shouldn't you have a hat as well?" I asked her. She laughed "I don't like hats, they bother me. I prefer to tie up my hair fashionably to get away with not having to wear one" she said. I chuckled "I don't like wearing hats either" I whispered. She giggled "Good, then I won't have to worry about you insisting on buying me one".

It was still early as we departed from her dressing room, and the people had not yet begun to crowd the broadwalks and beaches. I relaxed visably at this and Anne patted my arm "Father don't worry, the crowds won't bother you any. Come on, let's go walk on the beach before everybody gets there!".

We got down to the beach, I'd never stood on a beach before, and the sand felt odd beneath my feet as I stepped onto it. Anne smiled "I love coming down to the beach. I come at least once a month with Mr. Houdini" she tells me. I raise an eyebrow "Mr. Houdini? Who's he?" I ask, more curious than anything else.

She smiles "He's that magician I was telling you about yesterday! I'll introduce you to him later today. He usually takes me out on Sundays, but I talked to him yesterday and here I am with you instead" she tells me, fondly. She stops for a moment and watched a group of seagulls that have begun approaching them. In a flash of childlike instict, she rushes towards them, causing them to all fly off in different directions.

I merely watch as she continues going down the beach, running into great groups of the white birds and causing them to squack and fly farther down the beach. In Paris I never had time for leisurely walks, I'm glad to have this moment now. And I'm perfectly content walking down this expanse of beach, listening to the waves crash against the shore and watching my daughter act like the child I had hoped to find here waiting for me.

As the morning grows late people begin to come onto the beach in droves. It's at this time Anne takes my hand and leads me off the beach and onto the boardwalk "Come on, it's gonna get crowded really fast" she tells me. The sun begins to beat down and she opens her parasol, twirling it playfully for a brief moment, she then holds it properly and continues walking with me "How about we go see those diving horses now?" she asks. I merely nod my head in consent as she begins pulling me towards a large tower looming ahead.

The tower is about 60 feet tall, with a long ramp leading up to the top, and a rather small looking pool at the bottom. The crowds have begun to gather around, and Anne squeezes my hand reassuringly as I grow tense in the crowd. "Nobody's looking at you" she whispers softly, I look around, and sure enough, nobody notices me, they're all too focused on the tower.

Suddenly a young girl appears, she couldn't be more than 2 or 3 years older than Anne, dressed in a bathing suit. She waves off to the crowd, blowing kisses, encouraging them to cheer her on. With a giddy spring in her step, she turns around and begins climbing a ladder, all the way to the top of this tower.

As I watch in horror Anne nudges me and points over to the bottom of the ramp, where a pretty dark grey, almost black stallion is being held "That's Chester" she whispers "He's one of my favorite diving horses. He reminds me a little bit of Cesar" she tells me.

Now the girl is at the top of the tower, and with the wave of her hand, the horse at the bottom of the tower takes off up the ramp. Back in Paris I'd never indulged myself in such entertainment, considering it stupidity. But here, in America, for some reason it was different, and I found myself holding my breath in anticipation.

With graceful skill the girl grabbed hold of the horse's harness, pulling herself on his back as he leapt off the top of the tower and plunged into the water below. At this point most of the crowd cheered at their success, but I waited until the girl was safely out of the water before clapping my hands in aknowledgement. She deserved that much for what she'd done, I wouldn't bring myself so low as to shout over it though.

Once the girl and the horse were gone Anne took my hand and began leading me along "Where are we going now?" I ask her. She looks up at me "This is more of a stop for myself than for you, but I'm gonna take you along for my most favorite thing in all Atlantic City" she replies.

After pushing through the crowds and walking quite a ways, we come across a carousel. I'd never seen such a contraption before, of course I'd heard of them, read of them in books. They were a relatively new invention, with mechanical horses that went up and down in a circle. Some of them even had a game where you could catch a brass ring and win a free ride, this carousel appeared to have such a game.

Anne smiled at me, her smile melted my heart and ready to do whatever it was she wanted. Really, I would have died on the spot for her right then if that was what she wished, she looked so happy, and I myself was very happy. She pulled a few coins out of her pocket, going up to the man at the ticket booth and exchanging them for 2 tickets.

She handed one to me, and kept one for herself "Come on, let's get in line" she says excitedly, pulling my arm. As we stand and wait for the next round, I watch this carousel in wonder. The lights, the music, the beautifully crafted horses. They were each painted brightly, with horsehair manes and tails, and shimmering eyes. They were something to behold for a man who'd hardly been out in society in his own country, let alone America.

Finally it was our turn and I handed my ticket to the man waiting by the gate. Anne held my hand the entire time as we got up onto the platform, she tugged me along, going past each steed. Finally she settled on one, and mounted it. I, almost afraid, mounted the horse beside hers. She giggled "Father do you know how to play the game?" she asked.

I shook my head and she began cheerfully explaining that as we went past the red and gold arm, I was to reach out and catch a ring, placing it on the rod in my horse's head. At the end of the ride, a brass ring will be released, and if I catch it, I win a free ride. Anne seemed hopeful to catch it herself, I certainly hoped I didn't get it myself, I wouldn't want to ride this thing again all by myself.

The ride began and when the horse first started moving my grip on it tightened that my knuckles turned white. Anne, on the other hand, seemed to be enjoying herself tremendously. Reaching out and snagging 3 to 2 rings everytime we went around. After a few turns of the carousel I began to relax, the gentle up and down movement of the horse was actually a bit relaxing.

That was when I began to test myself. At first I could only grasp one ring, but by the third time around, I was able to catch up to 5. Anne smiled at me brightly and laughed "Wow! You're really good!" she chirped. After many rounds of this, a bell was rung and the man operating the carousel announced the brass ring had been released.

Fearing I would get it, I stopped reaching out to catch the rings, but Anne, dear Anne tried ever so hard to get one. Unfortunately though, a little boy caught the brass ring instead. As we got off the ride she merely shrugged "I'll get it next week" she told me simply. She glanced back at the carousel "I've caught it before anyhow".

She took my arm once again and began leading me towards the theatres. By now it was already mid-afternoon, and there didn't seem to be very many people. Anne took me to where the theatres all lined the street. Though they were all closed today, Anne ushered me inside one of them excitedly.

Dragging me through the empty auditorium she lead me up onto the stage, then into the wings, winding backstage until we came across a dressing room. "Wait here" she whispers, before knocking gently on the door and entering.

I don't listen in on whatever conversation is going on within the room, I have to trust my daughter, no matter what. Finally Anne returns to me, ushering me into the room, where a man, just about my age, was waiting to recieve me.

My first impressions of Harry Houdini, well, there WERE no first impressions, I'll leave it at that. He struck me as an average joe, with a wife and family, and nothing truely special. But I could tell that Anne admired and adored this man, whoever he was, so I shook his hand like a gentleman and smiled slightly "Mr. Destler! It's a pleasure!" he said, his voice had an accent, which instantly gave away that he wasn't American.

"Ah yes, Monsieur Houdini" I replied, "Anne has spoken fondly of you. She says you're a magician?". He smiles "Well, I'm not too shabby" he says, sounding very humble "I hear you're not bad yourself" he replied.

Deciding to play slightly, I throw my voice across the room as I answer "I know a few tricks". His eyes widen and he turns, looking behind him, before looking at me again "So you know ventriloquism".

Anne giggles "Father don't throw your voice like that! It's impolite!". She goes over to the man's desk and begins going through papers, at first I'm horrified that she's going through someone else's things, but then it occurs to me, that she's done this many times before.

"Are you working on a new escape trick?" she asks, pulling out a piece of paper with various drawings on it. He nods "Oh yes honey, but please put it down, I'm working especially hard on that one!". It takes a lot of self control not to go into a fit at him calling MY daughter 'honey'.

After that though, me and this man begin talking. He says what a wonderful girl Anne is, how talented and sweet. I swell with pride at his words, and after talking of Anne, I find he is an extremely talented magician, and illusionist.

The hours grows late and Anne yawns "Honey you better be gettin home now, you're fallin asleep on your feet" Monsieur Houdini tells her. She stands, hugging him for a moment and bidding him goodnight before leading me out and towards her own theatre.

"Monsieur Houdini is right Anne, we should go back home now. We've had a long day" I tell her. She shakes her head as we enter the theatre "No, I wanna show you something first" she tells me. She flips a switch, with activates the electic lights inside the theatre, lighting up the stage.

She escorts me up onto the stage asks me to wait. She disappears into the wings for a moment, before coming back. She's dressed in her practice clothes, the outfit she would have worn back in Paris at the opera on a regular rehearsal day. Her hair is tied up in a sloppy bun, and she's wearing her pointe shoes "I told you I'd show you how I dane on the wire!" she tells me.

Anne goes into the wings again, hitting a button that opens the floor, where two short poles come up, hardly 2 feet off the ground. Anne grabs a nearby wire, hanging on a hook next to the button, and clips either end to the two poles.

"This is what we use when I practice a new routine, I haven't had to in a while. But..." she pauses and looked at me, drawing me closer and whispering like she's telling me the greatest secret in the world "I've been practicing some regular ballet routines off the wire" she says.

I nod and she hops onto one of the short poles, rising up on pointe, she steps on the wire. "It's all about balance" she says, performing a little jump and then performing a pirouette. My eyes widen at how easy she makes it look, jumping on it as though it were solid ground. Suddenly she hops off "You wanna try?" she asks.

Balancing? I should be great at this! I step up onto the pole, taking a deep breath I step out onto the wire. Only three steps out it begins to shake and sway, and with a lurch I stumble off, falling onto the stage with none of the grace the Phantom once had. Anne laughs at me and kneels next to me "Are you alright Daddy?" she asks, still giggling.

Daddy, she hadn't called me daddy once this whole trip. She only called me daddy when she was very young. Now, she was calling me it again? My eyes began to water and she looked concern "Did you hurt yourself? Maybe we should..." I hold up my hand "No, I'm fine" I assure her, standing up.

She puts away the wire and the two poles, and takes my arm "Now we should really go back to my dressing room" she says. We shut off the lights in the theatre and as we walked back towards her dressing room, I couldn't help but wonder, was this where she was sleeping?

"Anne, where exactly do you sleep at night?" I asked her, as we arrived at her dressing room. She looked at me, almost sadly "On the divan in my dressing room" she replied as she opened the door. We both entered and she sat in her makeup chair, putting her parasol on the table.

We were silent, and suddenly I felt very old and tired. She stood and walked up to me, wrapping her arms around me and hugging me "I had a wonderful time today!" she tells me. I sigh and hold her close to me "Anne, please come back to Paris with me" I whisper.

She looked up at me "Father, I can't. You know I can't. Didn't you see today what a wonderful place this is? I'm happy here!" she insists. I shake my head "Your mother misses you Anne, Isabelle misses you!". She smiles sadly "When you go back tell mother I'm sorry I left, that I love her very much" I shake my head "Come tell her yourself Anne!".

Quietly she turns away and sighs "Father, I have things I need to do. I'm supposed to have a new number out by the end of the month!" she says. I smile "Anne, let me write you a song! For you to sing! Not this vaudeville trash that you're performing. An Aria! Wouldn't you like that?" I ask, nearly on my knees begging.

Anne's eyes water and she begins to cry "Father please, I'd love to but I have to sing this other song" she tells me. I shake my head "I'll make you a better singer, performer! I'll teach you!" I tell her. She looks at me "Teach me? Like you taught Christine? Will I be as good as her?" she asks.

"You'll be even better!" I assure her, I've hooked her! She nods "Yes! Yes I'll let you teach me! But I'm not singing any songs other than the one that I'm supposed to at the end of the month". I nod "During lessons you'll have to practice other songs" I tell her, she nods, wiping her tears away "Alright, yes alright I'll do that".

I kneel down in front of her and wipe away her tears "Now Anne, if I'm going to teach you, you'll have to sing whatever I like during the lessons. Rehearsals are the place to practice your other song. Alright?" I ask. There's a long silence before she nods "Yes father". And so, the fight for my daughter's heart has begun, and I know for sure that I have a chance. At least, I think I know, here in this country, just about anything can happen. I could be wrong, about everything. But this is one thing I cannot afford to be wrong about. I'll make sure I'm right.


	9. Once Upon a December

**HEY EVERYBODY! Sorry about the lack of authors note in the last chapter. Sometimes I like to just get them up and don't take time to do the A/N. But here I am! So Let's begin!**

**Today's chaper is sorta gonna be a half and half. We do need to keep Gabriella in this half of the story, so we're gonna have some backstory stuff happen. Also, the song I use in this is called 'Once upon a december' from Anastasia. Look it up, pretty good song! Movie, eh, it was alright I guess, nothing more really than a Disney Knock Off. But definately one of the better ones!**

**Alright it's time to address the public!**

**Sandal Walker: Well, you left 2 reviews, so I'll address both. Wild Green Broke horses are NOT fun! I tell you I have a menace of a pony who's green broke! Luckily Bucephalus won't be so cruel as to throw Kirsten into the dirt. And question on Breeds of Horse? Sure! Ask away! I rock at those questions. Yes, Erik on a Carousel is a very funny thought. But you would be right when you say that back in the day it wasn't just a kids ride. Even today, adults ride them! I went to Marthas Vineyard and rode an Antique Carousel from CONEY ISLAND! There were lots of Adults riding it believe it or not! It was a great experience (Where I got the bass ring game from). And I'm excited to unite Erik and Gabriella together again, Anne going back to Paris, well spoiler alert, she's not exactly gonna go back because she decides to, something's gonna happen that has her career end and makes her go back. **

**Everybody else, REVIEW! You people are insane! Like, what the? COME ON! I'm workin hard on this rewrite! It's actually good so far! So REVIEW IT! Please?**

**Thanks for Reading!**

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><p><strong>Kirsten POV<strong>

Daniel is worried about saddling Bucephalus today. He calls him unpredictable, and with time limited, we could very well fail today. Especially when Mama could come home at any time and catch us. She doesn't know that I've chosen Bucephalus, actually she doesn't know that I've even ridden a horse since Firefly.

But I have been riding, Daniel doesn't even know about it, because I kept it secret. But every night, I go out to Bucephalus's pasture and leap on his back and we ride. I can't explain what I feel when I'm near him, maybe because I'm only 5 years old, but this horse is special.

Mama tells me stories, stories of a black horse named Cesar. She always speaks fondly of Cesar, when she does. I don't understand why she doesn't like to talk about him to me, Papa is the one who told me the most about him. How he and Mama came to the opera house together, and he's the reason why they married.

I like hearing Mama talk about him though, because I can tell in her voice that he must have been very special. More special than even Papa knows. She told me a story of how she and Cesar would ride bareback through the woods. He never ever hurt her, she knew he never would. And even though her black stallion couldn't speak, through his eyes he could tell her anything, and everything.

When I look at Bucephalus, I feel the same as Mama described. That Bucephalus is telling me things, that he'd do anything I asked of him. And in return, I would do everything for him. Bucephalus was much taller than me, but he seemed to understand because he would lower his head for me when I walked up to him each night, he'd lower himself to his knees so I could climb on his back.

Cesar was Mama's special horse, and she says his spirit is with her. Maybe he's with me too, maybe Cesar brought me and Bucephalus together like he brought Mama and Papa together. I really hope so, tonight before I go see Bucephalus I'll stop in his rose garden and thank him.

Daniel walked out of the tack room carrying a saddle and bridle. By now I've brushed my horse's coat so that it shined. I rubbed the white star on his forehead before Daniel walked in, which caused Bucephalus to back up. "Kirsten hold him still so I can put this on him!" he told me, reaching up with the saddle to place it on his back. Bucephalus threw his head in protest, but I stroked his neck.

Once the saddle was on and secured, he took the bridle and looked up at Bucephlus. His head was held high and he refused to bring it down. "Come on Bucephalus" I called gently, after a few moments, he lowered his head and I pet him. Daniel stepped forward to put the bridle on but he threw his head up again "Let me try".

I took the bridle from him and Bucephalus lowered his head once more. Gently, I placed the bit in his mouth and put his bridle on. We walked outside to the arena after that, and even though I trust Bucephalus, I was slightly afraid of what he might do with a saddle on.

Once in the Arena, Daniel sat on the fence and I stroked Bucephalus's neck. He must have known it was time to ride, for as usual he got to his knees and waited for me. Placing my foot in the stirrup, I pulled myself on. My horse didn't move, to our surprise.

Daniel stood up and approached us, tugging Bucephalus towards the outside of the arena "Come on" he urged, but he wouldn't budge. Gently I asked him forward, and like a perfect angel he goes forward. I ask him faster, he goes faster, I slow him down, he slows.

Finally we stop, Mama will certainly be home soon because it's growing dark out. Patting Bucephalus's neck, I lead him outside. Then we scramble inside to change, so that Mama won't suspect we've been doing anything. I'm brushing my hair out as she enters the front door. I run down happily to meet her.

Mama looks tired, she does a lot lately. But today she looks especially tired. Still, she smiles as me as she hangs her coat "Kirsten, what have you been doing today?" she asks me. I shrug "Just reading Mama" I reply, I was pretty good at lying, even though I didn't like lying to my parents.

She sighs and enters the kitchen "Mama, how long have we lived here?" I ask her as she begins to cook dinner. She glances at me "Since your father built it, before you were born" she answers quietly. I sit at the table and watch her as she cuts a carrot to put into a stew "But didn't you live here before?" I ask her.

"Once" she replies. I swallow and ask her "Do you remember much about it? Was it nice here?" I ask her. At this she stops cutting and stares at me. Had I said something wrong? Finally she sighs, tossing the bits of carrot into the pot and stirs "Why don't you go upstairs and get ready for dinner, I'll tell you tonight, I promise".

I know Mama will keep her promise, I don't have to ask her twice, so I hop off my chair and run upstairs. Daniel is there getting ready as well "Mama's gonna tell a story after dinner" I tell him. He raises an eyebrow "Really? What about?" he asks. I smile "What life was like here when she was little".

Daniel gasps "She's never told us that! I don't think she's ever told father!". I giggle as I pick up my brush to finish what I'd started "Well maybe today she is ready" I reply. We don't speak again until Mama calls us down for dinner.

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><p><strong>Gabriella POV<strong>

Do I remember? I'd never actually, really, thought about it much. I remember the fire, the house burning to the ground and hearing the screams of my parents as they told me to get out, to save myself. But before then, what did I remember before then?

People have a funny way of blocking out memories they don't like. I could remember everything that happened after the fire, but anything before then I couldn't, I wouldn't remember. But I must remember, I, I do remember. As I stir the stew I think as hard as I can.

Suddenly, I remember something. My eyes begin to water with tears as I remember it, a song! A song, in the little music box my mother gave me on my 5th birthday. And she'd sing to it's tinkering little song, but the words, what were they? I felt myself beginning to sob as the notes spun around in my head. So clear, I could almost hear my mother singing it to me, could practically feel her beside me.

But what did she even look like? I must remember my mother, and my father! Yes! I can see them, almost a clear as day now! My father, he wasn't exactly the tallest man in France, nor the warmest. Actually my father reminded me a bit of Erik. Short black hair, a lot shorter than Erik's, but black as coal, and intelligent brown eyes framed by his glasses. Oh yes, my father was a very smart man, he read anything that he could get his hands on, and he practically memorized the text. He knew everything, and looked down upon those who knew nothing. He couldn't stand people who had no education, but seeing as he was a professor I could see why.

And my mother! She was short as well, a bit chubby, with light brown, almost blond hair, and warm brown eyes. She was so kind and gentle to me, we were the best of friends. Whenever I think of her I think of horses, and music. She played piano, beautiful piano. Whenever she began to play I'd rush down the stairs and sit on the couch nearby, simply listening to her as her fingers danced across the keys. I was never able to play, I could pluck out a few notes, but never could create music. My mother tried to teach me, but I simply never caught on. And the horses! She loved those horses, we both did. Our days were almost all spent riding together, training horses and taking care of them. She taught me everything I know about horses.

There must be more, oh there must be more. I search my mind, I remember the opera! Yes, and then there were the parties we were invited to often! Being the breeders of some of the finest horses in France, my parents knew a lot of people in the high society. We went to their balls, and I loved them! I'd always get a new gown, and I felt like a princess as I walked among those people of high class. For all I remember, I might have known Raoul's parents back then. But I can't remember, the faces in the ball room all come up blank to me.

Then there was the stuffed rabbit, white and worn. The only other thing I took out of the house with me that night of the fire other than the imfamous music box that played the song that had triggered my memories . I kept him hidden all my life, until finally placing him on the bookshelf in the library. Someone had given him to me when I was born, but I had more than that! I had a room full of things, I, almost remember.

I'm brought out of my struggles when the stew is finished. Swallowing and wiping away my tears, I called Kirsten and Daniel down to dinner. When they came they ate as quickly as they could without choking, while I ate as slow as I could. I was afraid to tell them, but I promised. Maybe talking to them would help me remember. But as of right this moment, my mind drew blank once more. I couldn't remember a thing.

Finally, we all finished and we retreated into the library. Sitting in Erik's chair by the fire, Kirsten crawled onto my lap, looking at me eagerly. "Mama you promised! Now tell us!" she urged. Daniel sat on the floor in front of us, looking up at me just as eagerly as his sister. I glanced around the room, my eyes landed on something that sat on one of the highest shelves.

It was like a smack in the face seeing that, sitting up there. I pointed it out to Daniel and he reached up for it, managing to grab it and hand it to me. I stared at the small jeweled box, with a swan painted on the top, and bears on the outside. Swallowing nervously I wound it up, and opened it, not knowing if it would even work. The haunting melody started, wrapping around my mind and tearing it open, letting the memories loose into the room.

This was the song! The song I'd remembered in the kitchen! I couldn't remember the words, but it made everything so clear! A ghostly smile came onto my face as I looked down at the little ballerina in the music box, spinning. Daniel and Kirsten were looking at the box in wonder as well, and softly, I couldn't help myself, I began to sing.

"_Dancing bears, painted wings, things I almost rememeber. And a song, someone sings, once upon a december. Someone holds me safe and warm, horses prance through a silver storm, figures dancing gracefully, across my memory_". I choked on tears for a moment, as I gazed around the room, watching it transform before my eyes, to being the way it was when I was a child. My father sitting a few feet away, clear as Daniel and Kirsten were now, reading as my mother played piano. And me, out in the middle of the floor, twirling and waltzing in my newest ball gown.

I looked out the window, and to my amazement the summer weather outside changed to snow! December snow! I smile as I continue to sing "_Someone holds me safe and warm, horses prance through a silver storm. Figures dancing gracefully, across my memory. Far away, long ago, glowing dim as an ember. Things my heart, used to know, things it yearns to remember. And a song, someone sings_" I pause and sigh "_Once upon a december_".

Kirsten has been lulled by my song, and Daniel is looking up at me, as if trying to memorize the words so he might write them down. "Where did you learn that song Mama?" Daniel finally asks me, I glance around the room, everything is back to normal and I look back at him "My mother, she used to sing to me each night, accompanied by this music box" I hand it to him and he studies it.

"What else Mama?" Kirsten asks me sleepily. The song unleashed memories, and before I could recall, I'd begun lamenting each thing I remembered. Painting pictures for my children, so they could see everything as clearly as I'd seen it. They listened joyfully to my tales of adventure. But then, I had no more memories to share, and I stopped suddenly, for there was one memory left, but to share it with them?

They looked at me now, as though I'd just painted them a fairytale. As though I'd told them that I'd been a princess living in a castle. And indeed I believe I had been a princess, to my parents anyway. But now Daniel urged the last "How did you get to the opera Mama?" he asked.

I looked at the fire in the hearth, staring at it unfeelingly as I began to remember the last memory "Well, this house as you know was built by your father. That is because the original house that I grew up with, burned down" I told them. This caused them both to look at me, with wide eyes.

"You mean you lost everything?" Kirsten asked, disbelieving. I nodded slowly "Everything" I whispered. Daniel blinked "But your parents, our grandparents, they were alright weren't they?" he asked. I felt tears trickle down my face "No, my dear, they both died in the fire that night".

Memories flashed before my eyes of that night. Me being woken up by the smell of smoke and the unusual amount of heat. I'd stood up, grabbing my bunny and putting on my robe, the music box had been in the pocket of it from when me and my mother had been looking at it before bed. Throwing open my bedroom door, I was met by smoke and a blast of heat that choked me. Frantically I ran into my parents bedroom, calling for them.

I remember the look in my father's eyes as he turned to me. My mother was screaming and crying and I ran into her arm in fright "Mama I'm scared!" I told her. She hushed me, stroking my hair for a brief moment before my father grabbed my arm and tugged me towards their bedroom window "What are you doing Gabriella? Get out of the house! Save yourself!". As he said this he tossed me and my bunny out the window, I landed in the bushes below, and took off running towards the stables, the screams of my mother and father following me.

My parents had told me to save myself, and I did. I remember standing there watching my whole world as it collapsed in a burning heap, the embers leaping towards the sky. I waited, praying that my mother and father might come out from around a corner and we'd all be together. But as the final flames died down, they never came, I turned and went into the stables. Crying on Cesar's shoulder, I poured out every ounce of grief my 15 year old body could muster before collapsing into an exhausted heap in the straw.

As the horror died away, my attention was drawn to Kirsten, who had burst into tears, clutching me "Mama Mama! I don't want you to die!" she said. She didn't think that this house would catch fire did she? Well, if she did, we both shared the same fears, but I didn't want my children to share this burden.

Daniel looked down and swallowed, I could tell I had upset them both. I held Kirsten close and hushed her "Cesar and I looked out for each other after that" I told them "And one day I went to the opera, and met your father, and all that matters is we're here now. And this house will be stronger than the last, it won't burn down".

Kirsten sniffles "You promise?" she asks me. I nod "I promise" I tell her, I knew it was wrong to promsie something I had no control over, but Erik built me this house with his love, it would NOT burn down! Finally Kirsten yawned and I picked her up, carrying her out of the room, Daniel trailed behind me.

"Wait Mama!" she said, pointing at the white bunny sitting on the shelf. Sighing, I reached up and picked it up, handing it to her "You may have him, if you've very gentle with him" I say, she shakes her head "It's yours Mama, you should sleep with it. That way you won't be so lonely without Papa here at night".

We all trudge upstairs, and I put Kirsten to bed, kissing her goodnight. I do the same to Daniel, and as I change into my nightgown, I pray that my tale will not cause them nightmares. I could tell in their eyes I had crushed their fairytale by telling them the house burned. The princess's castle isn't supposed to burn down, it's supposed to be the place where she and her prince charming raise their family and live happily ever after.

I get into bed and sit the small white rabbit on my lap. His whiskers are twisted, his nose worn away, and his fur is clumped and patchy. His bead eyes are scratched and worn as well. But he's timeless to me I suppose, he's as beautiful as he looked when he was brand new. And he still brings me comfort, after all, this was all that was left of my old life, my family.

The music box has found it's way next to me on the night table tonight, and the white rabbit is held tightly in my arms as I fall asleep tonight. Erik isn't here to comfort me, and though I'm frightened by my own stories, I will sleep soundly tonight, with my happy childhood memories held close to my heart.


End file.
